Tears of Redemption
by Sokai
Summary: After the near cataclysmic destruction of the planet two years ago, it has since slowly began to heal itself. Not quick enough,however, as a long sealed away astronomical evil threatens to seize this as an opportunity to reemerge and at last reign supreme
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

**By: Sokai**

**Disclaimer: ** I, Sokai, do not claim ownership to the workings of W.I.T.C.H. -- I leave _that_ honor up to Elisabetta Gnone. Nor do I own the Bible or any of its related scriptures. However, I can and DO claim to own this story and its inspired ideas FROM said series, as well as the original character, Sitara Vandom.

Note: _How'd this happen? I thought it was just going to be YOU guys, like my pal, **Senshi of Valis**, who would do this (and I hope still does)? Suddenly, I'm back, with my OWN prospective sequel to my "**Requiem for a Dream**" success (**I** thought, anyway) of a story, after I'd said that I most likely would not? I suck. LoL But honestly, I don't really think I will go very far with this story, as in continue it. I just got the idea in a dream earlier this week, and so I wrote it down, and the next thing I know a slightly flimsy skeleton-plot developed. So, I'm going to at LEAST post this prologue and see if I change my mind on whether or not to cancel this or not (besides, with the plot I have in mind, I might have to switch this to "M," because of the plot's underlining inspiration, which stinks for all of you 13 and younger registered users if I do. Oh, and for future reference, **I am in no way sacrilegious**, as a faint hint there to some of the plot . . . **SO DON'T FLAME!**)._

**WARNING:** PLEASE READ THIS PROLOGUE (THIS STORY, PERIOD) AT YOUR **OWN** RISK, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE EXTREMELY RELIGIOUS. WHILE I AM NOT TRYING TO BE DISRESPECTFUL, I MAY STILL END UP DOING SO FOR SOME OF YOU -- HENCE, THE WARNING, UNDERSTANDING, AND APOLOGY IN ADVANCE.

This story/prologue was created/written in July 2006.

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"_There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place."_ **-- Revelation 6:12-14**.

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The last day, I can remember vividly, had been rather peaceful -- all things considered . . . The unwanted "new" life that had been bestowed upon me after the incident when I was sixteen years old, was continuously execrable. 

Environmentally, I was still alone within this existence, being the sole survivor to my immediate family. I was still a hapless ward of the state for two years now, and continued to play "Foster Home Musical Chairs" (as the homes I had been sporadically placed within never cared to have me around for very long, and spat me back out into the harsh, real world at the first chance presented).

_Emotionally_, I was as pessimistic as ever, as a result of said substandard life. I had just completed high school through early graduation during the beginning of January (which was really no surprise to me on a personal level, considering that I am no longer the enthusiastic "people person" that I'd used to be, having decidedly returned to burying my head into my schoolbooks even _more_ so than I had _before_ the happening . . . I find that ironic, given that I can vaguely recall that that's what _she_ said she did while growing up as well, and for the same reason. I suppose, in _that_ capacity, we truly _had_ been related . . .), and was enraptured to at last be done with school, _period_, as I'd decided to forgo college.

_Basically_? All in all, despite my _extreme_ negativity and superb repugnance of the world overall (with admittedly frequent cravings for something _bad_ to happen to it -- _far_ more than what had because of _her _-- churning throughout my waking mind), I was basically prepared to go on with the rest of my life, such as it was.

However, nothing, _nothing_ could have even _begun_ to prepare me for what had happened the night before my eighteenth birthday -- the night before the end . . . or, should it be regarded as the _beginning_?

**-- End of Prologue**

**(A.N. Obviously, this is confusing to those who haven't read my "_Requiem for a Dream_" story before this, so all of Will's references to "her" and "what happened two years ago" will completely go straight over your head. Sorry for that, but just read the first story to alleviate the confusion if you'd like. Anyhow, I'd written more, honestly, such as Will continuing on in her P.O.V. and what had happened the night before her birthday, but I wanted to add more stuff to it. So I will switch it out of Will's P.O.V. and into the usual third person P.O.V. and move the rest of the prologue into chapter one, which is long anyhow – so it'll make up for this short prologue . . . however, if you think about it, it reveals volumes, especially the quote . . . cough. LoL But anyhow, I'm still not sure if I even will continue on, though. I've been juggling with the decision all week. We'll see, though, especially if this gets interest and support as well. Thanks.)**


	2. Chapter One: The Apocalypse

**Chapter One: "The Apocalypse"**

**By: Sokai**

**Disclaimer: ** I, Sokai, do not claim ownership to the workings of W.I.T.C.H. -- I leave _that_ honor up to Elisabetta Gnone. Nor do I own the Bible or any of its related scriptures. However, I can and DO claim to own this story and its inspired ideas FROM said series, as well as the original character, Sitara Vandom.

Note: Um. Not much to say here. PLEASE READ "**REQUIEM FOR A DREAM**" BEFORE READING THIS, THOSE WHO HAVEN'T YET. And would you believe it that this story's THE first W.I.T.C.H. story to be placed within the "Spiritual" genre? Sweet. LoL And sorry if I end up scaring some of you with this story (ahem, DayDreamer9 LoL). Like I said, I doubt I'll finish this story or get past chapter two, but there it is. LoL For now, (try to) enjoy chapter one . . . and don't be scared (that mainly means you, Gina LoL)!

**WARNING:** PLEASE READ THIS STORY AT YOUR **OWN** RISK, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE EXTREMELY RELIGIOUS. WHILE I AM **NOT TRYING TO BE DISRESPECTFUL OR SACRILEGIOUS**, I MAY STILL END UP DOING SO FOR SOME OF YOU -- HENCE, THE WARNING, UNDERSTANDING, AND APOLOGY IN ADVANCE.

This chapter was created/written in July 2006.

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"_And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"_ **-- Revelation 6:15-17.**

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_**. . . Flashback, January 18, 2008 . . .**_

The sky during its daylight hours had been as blue as it had ever been , with the sun shining with a fierce exuberance never parallel to any other day before it. Birds were singing gaily as they flocked from frosted tree to frosted tree; and the people seemed just as upbeat as their animal counterparts.

Based upon the overall behavior, it would have been surmised to have been the first day of summer vacation, versus the frigidness of early winter that it had actually been.

By the time that _evening_ had rolled around, however, the weather had curiously begun to take a drastic turn for the worse. Furious, howling winds bellowed throughout the atmosphere as an onslaught of heavy sleet and freezing rain pelted and battered the defenseless beings and ground below.

To the world, changes in weather, _especially_ during the Winter season, was of no consequence. To the world _beyond_, however, its suddenly bellicose behavior was signs of something _far_ more grandeur . . . something that the _already_ bruised and still recuperating planet would _never_ recover from . . .

"The end draws near, Tibor. I must admit that I am not so confident about the final outcome; the eternal struggle between good and evil appears to be greatly wavering in the latter's favor," said the omnipotent and benevolent Oracle, floating within a levitating platform inside of the very center of the Temple of Candracar.

There had been countless times when he would do this, focusing his energy while his long time adviser and friend, Tibor, would faithfully remain erect behind him, and each time he would feel at such peace. The faint tickling of Tibor's long white beard and mustache upon the back of the Oracle's bare heels would always bring a small smile upon his boyish face during those moments of lax meditation.

However, this time it could do no such thing, as _this_ particular moment was _not_ of traditional serenity, but instead of great unease.

Distress suffused itself into the Oracle's kind and gentle being as he continued to focus upon the stressing affairs of the universe.

Even though he could not see his face, the Oracle was well aware that Tibor's whithered-looking yet strong demeanor was _also_ now contorted with grand concern as he began to speak.

"Perhaps that may be so; however, you know as well as any within existence that evil cannot exist without its benevolent counterpart," said the largely fortified man in his usual bass-like growl of a voice that was in direct contrast to his master's lyrical own.

He peered down at the back of the Oracle's smooth, bald head with soft eyes as he continued.

"And so therefore, even _if_ evil may seize the upper hand, eventually good _will_ rise up and win out in the end."

The Oracle could not help but gently smile for the first time in such a long while as he heard this, despite his growing worry upon the situation at hand.

"Wise and admirable you truly are, my old companion, and under normal circumstances I would be most inclined to agree with you of the notion. However, we are not referring to just _any_ kind of evil -- it is _the_ evil that we have always feared would one day reemerge.

Now, there is to be a _world_ of struggle and perseverance ahead for the forces of good as a result and . . . quite frankly, I do not believe that the two of them will be up to the task," remarked the Oracle with a somber quietness not ever heard within his voice before.

He could sense Tibor trying his best to maintain the faith; however, it was quickly dying out, for he understood that if the _Oracle_ of all beings was actually feeling quite discouraged upon this matter, then the outlook was not at _all _looking too good.

Still, the old man pressed on with his positive reinforcement.

"Please. You must not be too hard upon yourself. What had happened _had _to have . . . It could not have been engineered in any other fashion," his voice rumbled as reassuringly as it could.

The Oracle let out a soft sigh as he slowly closed his eyes.

"Perhaps not, Tibor -- perhaps not. Nevertheless, with the way things have turned out -- how _she_ has turned out, to once more call upon her to achieve something so astronomically _impossible_ and unlike any other mission her _predecessors_ had to take on . . . I am certain that she will not be so forgiving once she learns of the truth . . ."

Opening his sullen eyes just then, the Oracle slowly raised his right hand directly in front of him and softly whispered,

". . . It has begun, Tibor. We must bring her to Candracar at _once_ . . ."

With his outstretched hand suddenly aglow, the Oracle focused his energy and mental powers onto the girl in question. He could see her clear as day within his mind, having just fallen asleep within her tiny, dilapidated bedroom of the final temporary foster home she would be placed within, as tomorrow would be her eighteenth birthday and she would be moving straight into the small apartment she had worked her hands to the bone to save up enough money for.

The Oracle could hear her final thoughts before allowing slumber to claim her:

"From now on, my destiny will _truly_ be within _my _hands. Tomorrow marks the start of my new, hopefully better life."

How true did the Oracle wish that that could be for the flaming red head. At least, in the manner that she was hoping for. It was going to be unfair to call upon the no longer active Keeper's services once more, after all that she had been through in the last two years, but there simply was no other alternative.

This was her path. _This_ was her true destiny.

Suddenly, the Oracle effortlessly spirited away the formerly slumbering red head away from the destructive zone that would be her home planet of Earth in just a few minutes, and into the safety of his temple.

The Oracle and Tibor watched the young woman, who still lay within her sleeping position before them upon the ground, begin to collect her barrings and snap out of her sleepy haze to at last realize where she was.

Finally, as she propelled herself onto her feet another minute later as a stunned, disoriented gaze filtered itself onto her naturally tawny face, the Oracle spoke calmly to the frazzled girl.

". . . Welcome back to Candracar, Will Vandom . . . or is it still _Wilhelmina_ that you prefer to be called instead?" he remarked gently, gazing upon the lone woman with sympathetic eyes as she whirled around to face him.

". . . _You_. How _dare_ you bring me back here? And for _what_? To rub it in my face of how _screwed_ up my life has become, all thanks to my supposed '_honor_' of being a Guardian of the Veil?" vociferated Wilhelmina, the sleep and fatigue from a long day instantly evaporating away from her the moment her surprisingly fierce brown eyes attempted to bore a hole straight into the Oracle's skull.

The Oracle marveled at how brash and closed off the formerly timid, shy and sweet girl had become -- and at his indirect hand, no less. At that moment, he realized all the more that it would not be easy, what he was about to deliver onto her.

"I understand completely of your . . . frustration, Wilhelmina; I do. And --"

"-- _You_? How could you _possibly_? You sit here, high within your ethereal-like plane existence, monitoring the ways of the universe. And yet, for all your 'infinite wisdom,' you know _nothing_!" snarled Wilhelmina, pointing an accusatory finger within the celestial being's direction as she stood before him within her tattered pajamas.

"When I first met you after the final veil had been closed, you claimed to be 'all-knowing and all-seeing.' If that's true, then surely you _must _have been aware that my loved ones were marked for _death_, and that I'd be _ruined_ and _alone_ because of it! And you _still_ let it _happen_!"

The fiery red head's words cut through the Oracle like a knife through butter, making him feel that much more desolate for what he had to do.

". . . You are correct -- about everything. I _did_ know that this would happen, and that you would have ultimately turned out this way as a result," he replied softly, continuing to share his gaze with Wilhelmina, whose chest was heaving uncontrollably with swelling anger. "However, you _must _understand that it _had_ to be done for the Greater Good."

Knowing that Wilhelmina was about to blow her top at this, the Oracle swiftly raised his hand once more, this time to cease her efforts as he continued.

"While time is of no consequence _here_, it is _rapidly_ running out back on Earth, and so therefore I must ask that you please, at the _very_ least, grant me the opportunity to explain why I have summoned you here as best that I can at the moment," he said, momentarily pausing to watch the perturbed young woman fold her arms across her chest and heave an extremely annoyed sigh.

Thankful that there would be no interruption, at least for the time being, the Oracle took a slow, deep breath before beginning his dynamic story.

". . . It is true that I am rather omnipotent, young Guardian. I _had_ foreseen, from the start, that your loved ones _would_ perish the way that they had, and still I allowed all of you to carry on, oblivious to the fact. By the same token, I was _also_ aware that your mother had given up your estranged twin sister to your father eighteen years ago, and what it would mean once the two of you finally met . . .

For, you see, it was I who had taken slight measures to craft and influence your sister's life in that manner: to cause her to be sick at the time of her birth, knowing that, in all honesty, it would have been your father who would have been able to financially care for her the most, and would eventually petition to seize sole custody of her out of selfish, self-righteous arrogance," the Oracle revealed slowly, he and Tibor looking upon Wilhelmina's visibly tense demeanor upon at last hearing the truth. Her brown eyes grew wide with surprise and her soft, pink tinted lips pursed themselves together in unbelievable disgust as the Oracle allowed himself to become privy to her current thoughts:

_True, I may not know this man inside-out, but there is **no** way that he would be that **sinister** to allow those **awful **things to have happened to her, all for the sole purpose of benefiting the so-called "Greater Good . . ."_

The Oracle sighed. He wasn't sure that the young Keeper would ever understand his bottom line intentions for the Grand Scheme of things. Unfortunately, having her do so right now would have to wait.

"The rest of the truth will all be revealed in due time, when you are meant to know, Wilhelmina. However, _now_ is when you must learn of why you are _here_, and what you must do -- not simply for you _own_ sake, but for the sake of the _entire planet_."

Raising a hand to rub feverishly at her temple, the Oracle could tell that Wilhelmina was rapidly trying to process what had just been verbally delivered to her, in addition to whether or not she should do _anything_ he said.

". . . So, let me get this straight. You honestly expect me to resume my Guardian duties, despite knowing how much I basically _despise_ you and everything you claim to stand for?" she queried tightly, taking another step toward the benevolent creature and his loyal advisor. "To be your Keeper again, look after the world and protect it from evil? _Newsflash_! I _refuse_ to be your stupid_ lapdog_ anymore! My friends all _died _'in the line of duty' for being ones, _themselves_! I'll bet I can't even see them now, can I? You know, since _this_ is where every Guardian of the Veil is promised to end up after passing on. I'm not budging from this spot until you let me see them!"

The Oracle had expected the young woman to eventually make this request at some point during their meeting, and knew that she would not at all like his answer. However, he had to remind himself that this, like everything else, was all for a reason, and eventually Wilhelmina would realize that, herself.

"I am sorry, young one, but that cannot be. You must concentrate upon the matter at hand, and that is the Earth as you have always known it is but mere minutes from being completely devastated by an immeasurable evil long since sealed away . . ." said the Oracle in the most serious tone he had taken since the start of the confrontation between the sole Guardian and himself, as he at last addressed the crucial content he'd honestly should have at the moment of her arrival.

"What are you _talking_ about? The Earth's _been_ in environmental disarray since . . . A-_anyway_, **_what_** 'immeasurable evil' could be _that_ grand that it could eradicate an _entire_ planet? And what do you _possibly_ think that I alone could do about it even if I'd _wanted_ to? I've washed my hands of the Earth and do-gooder scene," Wilhelmina scoffed, briefly sounding like the deceased Earth Guardian in that nature, the Oracle silently took note of, the way she immediately dismissed the topic with such negativity.

He'd _also_ noticed, and sadly so, of how the crimson haired beauty continued to meticulously avoid reflecting upon the night when her sibling had died, let alone referring to her by her name.

Whether she wanted to or not, there would come a time when Wilhelmina would be forced to completely do so, of that the Oracle was absolutely certain . . .

". . . This evil, Wilhelmina, is _the_ evil, referred to as 'The Destroyer.' Appropriately named, because that is _exactly_ what it does and _will _do to your planet, now that the seal has been broken," he tried to explain as quickly as he could, feeling said malevolent creature's overwhelming dark energy already beginning to envelop the Earth and begin its reconstruction of the planet into its own design.

Suddenly, Wilhelmina toppled over onto her knees as a cold sweat immediately broke out all over her body. Apparently, despite her detest of her magical inheritance, it had not at all abandoned her as she did it in an emotional capacity.

She, much like the Oracle, was now _also_ feeling the crushing intensity of the Destroyer's unmatched power. Except that, for _her_, feeling such power weighing heavily down upon her would, _without_ question, inevitably kill her.

"This is precisely why I whisked you away from Earth just in time, Wilhelmina. Even here on Candracar, the extent of its power is too great. To allow you, the Keeper of the Heart of Candracar, the one who will ultimately combat against this evil, to remain where you were would have instantaneously _obliterated_ you," explained the Oracle, both he and the ever silent Tibor looking upon Wilhelmina with sympathetic eyes as she struggled to stand and regain her steady breathing.

". . . T-then . . . How . . . How do you expect . . . expect me to _win_, when this . . . _Destroyer_ is _already_ kicking my ass all the way from _here_?" she asked with bitter weariness, managing to wobbly rise back onto her feet while still clutching firmly to her chest.

For the second time in so long, the Oracle had managed to crack yet another smile at this, at last able to bestow upon the despairing woman a bit of positive news.

"True, you are not at _all _prepared _or_ strong enough to face this great feat alone, young Keeper. And despite what you may think, I _am_ truly sorry that you must take this on at all. However, the two of you _must _band together to do so, as you were the ones to unwittingly open the Destroyer's seal during your final battle . . ." he trailed off mysteriously, watching Wilhelmina's brown eyes widen once more with great curiosity as to what he meant -- _especially_ by "_two_."

". . . How did _I _open the Destroyer's seal? _Where_? I can only remember fighting, heavy rain and wind, and --" Wilhelmina cut herself off as a new thought had then occurred to her.

"Yes, Guardian -- the _earthquake_. The great tremors, chaos and demolition constructed throughout the world -- and not just within Fadden Hills Cemetery where your father had been buried and the battle had taken place -- had done _incalculable_ damage to it . . . and reawakened the Destroyer in the process. Had your sister had been given more time to be reborn and resume her true duties, then perhaps --"

"-- Wait, _what_? _Reborn_? What are you saying? You mean . . . you mean she . . . _isn't _dead?" stammered Wilhelmina, the first glimmer of true hope she hadn't felt in so long sounding within her voice and beginning to shimmer within her molasses colored gems.

The Oracle shook his head slowly.

"Again, everything will be revealed in due course -- please be patient. But no, she _did_ die. However, as part of her _own_ separate destiny, she is to be reborn -- upon your shared birthday, in fact. And, as soon as you awaken from your slumber, you will set forth to find her to begin your shared mission," he delivered in a matter-of-fact capacity, his body beginning to glow a pure white at the same time that Wilhelmina's began to do the same unknowingly, her aura bright fuchsia in contrast.

"Wait, _wait_, **_wait_**! '_Slumber_?' I _can't _go back to sleep now! Not after learning that my sister _isn't _gone! _Please_ tell me more! You owe me at _least_ that!" demanded Wilhelmina, grasping onto her chest a bit tighter as the waves of debilitating negativity crashed down upon both her and the Oracle once more.

Raising both of his hands into the air this time, the Oracle began to expel some of his power out towards Wilhelmina and watched it intermingle with her own, as Tibor closed his eyes and granted his master some of his _own_ power to help keep him focused.

"Please have faith and trust me, Keeper. I bestow upon you now some of my own magical strength, so that once you return to the newly reconstructed Earth, you will be able to better withstand its as well as the Destroyer's refutable power," instructed the Oracle, he and Wilhelmina watching their white and fuchsia colored energies taking on a more soft pink hue as they came together and suffused into the young woman's body.

Wilhelmina struggled to remain conscious then, as she suddenly felt her former fatigue from earlier returning, her body slowly beginning to hover effortlessly from off of the ground.

"From this point on, you will no longer merely be known as the 'Keeper of the Heart of Candracar,' but as the 'Ultimate Savior,' fighting alongside the 'Protector of the Earth.' After you awaken from your dormancy, you will embark upon your search for your sister, and then the two of you will find 'the others.' Do not fear, for the Heart and the Core will guide you in your quest. Good luck, my young Guardian . . ." said the Oracle somberly as he finished transferring some of his infinite power into the red head's floating body that remained glowing its faint pink, watching her at last lose the fight to maintain consciousness.

At the same moment that her eyes slowly closed and she began the three and a half year slumber needed to be prepared for the battle ahead, the Oracle felt the great decimation of the woman's home planet as the Destroyer at last emerged and began to inflict its chaos worldwide upon the inhabitants that were left defenseless.

He knew that millions would die and crumble with its might, and thousands more would suffer and _wish_ for death that perhaps would never come before it was all over. However, he simply had to remain as confident as he could that it would not all be in vain . . .

". . . Happy birthday, Wilhelmina and Sitara . . ." whispered the Oracle solemnly as he felt the new day arrive -- the day of the end and beginning, before closing his eyes and resuming his meditation in order to block out the screams and cries of suffering and death occurring upon the once otherwise peaceful Earth.

**-- End of Chapter One**

**(A.N. Lemme alone, Gina. That WASN'T scary! LoL Massively depressing, true, and on both Will's and my older sister's birthday, no less! Note to self: don't let my sister read this story, or else she'll resent the fact that I made 'the end of the world' to occur upon her birthday. LoL **

**Anyhow! I'm pretty pleased with how this chapter panned out. I said all I wanted to, and didn't reveal everything I'm not yet ready to. All in all? I'M good. LoL If YOU'RE not, sorry! Especially since it will be a little while before I might update. In the meanwhile, let me hear your thoughts. And NO flames about how I conveyed the reject Oracle – sorry, I don't really care much for him LoL – because I haven't personally read so far in the books. So I took what I do know and worked with that. Besides, this is a FANFIC, so I could have made him a WOMAN for all I cared, and you couldn't do a thing about it. So ha. LoL No, you know I'm just messin' with you, boo. I love you guys. LoL Later!)**


	3. Chapter Two: New Age

**Chapter Two: "New Age"**

**By: Sokai**

**Disclaimer: **I, Sokai, do not claim ownership to the workings of W.I.T.C.H. -- I leave _that_ honor up to Elisabetta Gnone. However, I can and DO claim to own this story and its inspired ideas FROM said series, as well as the original character, Sitara Vandom.

Note: _Wow. Only, technically one chapter, and already 17 reviews? Either my "reputation" as a fair writer continues to precede me, or this story is just that good already and I don't yet realize. LoL Either way? Thanks for the growing support. For NOW, it stays rated as "T." That is, if I don't get TOO . . . "scary" with it. This is probably one of the hardest stories I've ever crafted, because I'm forced to couple what I've imagined for the plot with "actual" things that hopefully will never occur in mine or your lifetime. So . . . yeah. Wish me luck with the progress! LoL_

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**WARNING:** PLEASE READ THIS STORY AT YOUR **OWN** RISK, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE EXTREMELY RELIGIOUS. WHILE I AM **NOT TRYING TO BE DISRESPECTFUL OR SACRILEGIOUS**, I MAY STILL END UP DOING SO FOR SOME OF YOU -- HENCE, THE WARNING, UNDERSTANDING, AND APOLOGY IN ADVANCE.

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This chapter was created/written in July 2006.

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_"And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree."_**-- Revelation 7:1**

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Early morning emerged onto the world, causing unknown creatures to stir awake to greet the new day. However, while some creatures did so, there are many others who instead regrettably wallow in despair to learn that they have _survived _for yet another day . . . And to do so within a world such as this, where the sun is no longer seen and there is perpetual darkness similar to that of a nuclear winter, was more of a _curse_ than it was a blessing. 

However, unbeknownst to all who in habit this desolate planet, the first ray of _true_ hope lay in wait -- _literally_ . . .

In a majorly barren and continuously decaying field within one of the few last traces of human civilization, a wary middle-aged father hurriedly tries to scavenge for what little food remains upon the planet. Exploring the area not too far away is his little girl around six or seven, reveling in the rare opportunity to be above ground, despite its unsightly nature.

Too enthralled with her surroundings and of the outside world she and her family are no longer a part of, the little girl tripped over what felt like a log. Rolling over, she could then clearly see that it was not a log, but the still body of a young woman seemingly within her early twenties, lying half naked in torn clothing upon her back.

Startled, the little girl quickly scurried back over to her father in the distance.

"Esmé? What is it, child? Did you happen to spot one of them? Stay by my side -- I am almost done," said the small girl's father in a hushed yet firm voice, gently clutching his only child to his chest in safety as a worried frown began to play upon his dirtied and scruffy-bearded face.

The little girl apparently named Esmé, however, would have none of that, as she'd managed to wrench herself free from her obviously protective father's grasp and silently beckoned him to follow her back towards her discovery.

"Esmé! What are you doing? We mustn't dillydally! We must -- go . . ." Esmé's frantic father delivered as quietly as he could so as not to attract any unwanted demonic visitors, before trailing off.

Mouth held open agape, the brown-haired, green-eyed man could finally see what his daughter had.

At first glance, the unconscious being looked to be covered in blood; however, upon closer inspection the man and his daughter realized that it was merely the woman's extremely long, bright red hair that spread out around her and better concealed her body more than what little clothing she had on did.

Although the man was forcibly suspicious, he still maintained what little faith he had left and could vaguely sense that there was not anything malicious about this young female. He swiftly reasoned that perhaps she unfortunately had a run-in with one or a lot of them and somehow managed to survive -- although that would have been the first time he'd ever heard of such a thing . . . save one occurrence.

". . . Yes, yes -- we will take her back to Barinak with us, Esmé," said the man, sensing his daughter's desire to rescue the comatose maiden as he watched Esmé's tiny frame kneel down beside the body and gently rest a tiny hand upon her shoulder. "Although, we must be quick. I suspect that it is approaching the time when they will awaken, and we do not want to be caught as their breakfast . . . Here, love -- take my pouch and go on ahead so that I can properly carry her."

Doing as she was told, Esmé immediately seized her father's old and tattered leather hand bag that was only filled one-fourth of the way with the minuscule amount of food he'd managed to find and scampered ahead towards the small burrow that they'd come out of and would lead them to their so far undetected home underground.

After several minutes of blindly climbing down through darkness, eventually Esmé and her father were bathed in warm candlelight as they returned to their shelter that was completely carved out of living rock. Walking down a long corridor in silence, Esmé and her father did the best that they could to ignore the curious stares of fellow dwellers that greeted them as the two passed by each of their individual homes.

"Gabriel, what is the meaning of this? We send you to go on a scout-and-scavenger mission, and you return not with breakfast but with a _body_?" queried an elderly man with frazzled white hair in an accusatory manner, a wooden stick within one of his bony hands to use for walking.

"Say what you will, Cato, but I could not leave her out there to them," replied Esmé's father known as Gabriel as he continued to walk on with his daughter, readjusting his hold upon the slumbering woman within his arms. "We may live a doomed existence, but the one thing we continue to have going for us is our _compassion _-- our_ humanity_. It is something that they will _never_ be able to comprehend."

"Perhaps so, but it is our _compassion_, as you say, that will continue to _eradicate _us until those bastards have completely overtaken this _worthless_ planet," countered Cato gruffly, a few bystanders nodding in agreement while the rest returned to their homes or morning chores. "If I remember correctly, it had been _your_ endearing humanity that had done you in . . ."

Squeezing his eyes shut at the last, unappreciated comment made by the antiquated man, Gabriel blindly jogged the last few steps to his and Esmé's living quarters and hurriedly pulled aside the dirty pale blue cloth curtain before walking in.

"Esmé, you stay with her while I go get some water and any spare clothing that I can find," instructed Gabriel quietly, gently setting down the motionless woman onto his straw-made bed and covered her with his small, white blanket. "And while I doubt that anything will happen, _should _it be sure to blow the whistle," he added, referring to the tiny, shimmering silver whistle attached to the equally silver necklace around her neck before leaving the room.

Curious, as most children tend to be, Esmé immediately moved over to the slumbering young gentlewoman and carefully climbed onto the bed with her. Folding her legs underneath her tiny body as she sat beside the red head, Esmé reached a hand out to the other girl's strong and lean arm, idly tapping on it.

Seeing that that effectively did not seem to bother the woman's sleep, Esmé gently poked at her side, a small smile growing upon her peaches and cream face. Esmé's smile grew wider as she slowly reached out to brush a few strands of the older woman's flowing red hair away from her face. She marveled at how peaceful she appeared to be -- _greatly_ unlike the others living within her small community, whose faces were constantly contorted with worry and apprehension.

As Esmé began to wonder where this girl had come from, she suddenly felt a firm grasp upon her small wrist. Startled, Esmé could see that while the young woman had a tightening hold upon her appendage, her eyes were still closed.

While contemplating how to break free from the unusually strong woman and blow her whistle with her free hand, Esmé suddenly felt the grip loosening the same instant that the other girl slowly opened her eyes and a sharp, enriched brown met with Esmé's pale gray.

Slowly blinking to gain focus, the young woman bolted upright in alarm, looking about her surroundings while still lightly holding onto Esmé without realizing. Moreover, Esmé wasn't even all that positive that the girl was completely aware of her presence, _period_, as she seemed to be too consumed with figuring out her whereabouts.

Finally, the woman returned her gaze back onto the little girl, who smiled crookedly at her, and released her the same moment that Esmé's father had reentered the room.

"Esmé, what -- _oh_! Uh . . . you've awaken," said Gabriel with a bit uncertainty, slowly approaching as he studied the woman's slightly dazed expression that caressed her otherwise flawless features. "Are you all right?"

Esmé allowed her father to gently lift her from off of the bed before taking the small wooden gourd that was filled with a meager amount of slightly dirty water from out of his calloused hand.

". . . It seems as though my daughter has taken a particularly strong shining to you. She generally gets along with everyone within our community, but has never really bonded with anyone as she apparently desires to do so with you," remarked Gabriel, stroking the top of his daughter's shoulder length, sandy blonde hair affectionately. "Which was the main reason why I'd bothered to bring you to our hideaway, because I have found that she is a pretty good judge of character."

The young woman merely stared blankly at the two strangers, slowly raising a hand to her forehead while straining her voice to speak.

". . . W . . . Whe . . . where a-am . . . I?" she inquired hoarsely the moment that Esmé had moved back over to her and began to gently feed her the water-filled gourd.

"You're inside mine and my daughter's living quarters . . . one of the _many _living quarters, actually, within our Underground City of Barinak . . ." revealed Gabriel meticulously, studying the woman's reaction. "_Surely_ you yourself had come from your _own_ form of shelter, that I have often kept the hope existed for the presumably remaining survivors upon this barren planet, but have never been able to venture out long enough to find out . . . It'd be a _suicide_ mission, after all . . . Still, there _has _to be others, if we found _you _. . . Tell us, miss: where _did_ you originate from?"

Esmé tipped the last of the water into the girl's mouth (who eagerly drank every precious drop with such a fierce relish), before hugging the moist gourd to her chest and smiled bright-eyed at her. Her father could not help but to smile, _himself_, to see how enraptured his daughter had become with this newcomer.

It was the first good thing to have happened in their otherwise troublesome life in such a long while . . .

". . . I . . . remember . . . bright lights . . . warmth . . ." murmured the girl wearily, gruffly clearing her throat while looking at the very attentive Esmé with curiosity.

". . . Perhaps you are a _Godsend _-- a _saint_ sent from above to help deliver us from our perpetual torment . . ." breathed Gabriel as his green eyes grew wide, his feet simultaneously moving him over to the now taken aback woman, and sank to his knees. "Was it _you_ who had answered my prayers, to let my Esmé live after her near-fatal accident?"

"Wait . . . _what_? I . . . I'm no saint --_ trust_ me . . ." said the girl softly as more of her senses settled back in, pulling the blanket closer to her slightly bare chest. It was obvious that she was feeling uncomfortable by the close proximity of the small family.

Blushing in embarrassment after realizing that he had yet to give to her the clothes that he had brought with him and were still within his hands, Gabriel quickly stood up and moved away from the young gentlewoman and hurriedly handed them to her.

"I-I'm sorry. I suppose that I'd simply gotten carried away more than perhaps even little _Esmé _here to encounter someone new . . . Um, please. You may take these clothes, get dressed, and rest up a bit, while Esmé and I fix you something to eat -- you must be _famished_. We can talk later if you'd like," said Gabriel, struggling to pry Esmé from her glued spot at the other female's side and dragged her out of the room.

"T . . . Thank you," said the girl as she looked from her new clothes to Gabriel, watching him and his ever silent daughter leave the room. ". . . Oh, and by the way: _my_ name is Will . . ."

**-- End of Chapter Two**

* * *

**(A.N. Don't be all, "You did/didn't do this/that" on me, because it IS 3 in the morning now and I'm beat. Sucks if I missed junk, but I'll snag it again tomorrow on my floppy. ANYWAY! Yeah, I know: cop out. Sue me. If not, SIT on it. LoL Sorry. Had a "Happy Days" moment, there. LoL Anyway, trust me, there's more and this chapter's actually a lot longer, but I kept going back and rewriting stuff that I had to divide it. I hate short chapters, don't you? I feel so dirty now. LoL It's just that, this story's my hardest because I'm forced to create a brand new world all my own, so you'll have to be patient with me. Trust me though, while I know I've kind of left you hanging, especially what's little Esmé's deal and what the underground city looks like, but that's in the next chapter, no worries. 'Till then, bye! Oh, and P.S.: While for SOME reason Esmé's beautiful name just popped into my head while dreaming about this chapter a few weeks ago, I'd strategically chosen Gabriel's and Cato's names for a reason, which I'll say why in chapter three's note. Yay! LoL And yes, I kept having Gabriel or Cato say "_them_" or "_they_" in conversation without being elaborate on purpose, so no worries.)**


	4. Chapter Three: Dispiriting World

**Chapter Three: "Dispiriting World"**

**By: Sokai**

**Disclaimer: **I, Sokai, do not claim ownership to the workings of W.I.T.C.H. -- I leave _that_ honor up to Elisabetta Gnone. However, I can and DO claim to own this story and its inspired ideas FROM said series, as well as the original character, Sitara Vandom.

Note: _Okay: why **did** I name Gabriel and Cato what I had? Cato, for nothing really significant, as **he** is not, himself. It just means "wise" in Latin, and was the surname of Marcus Porcius Cato, or "Cato the Elder," who lived during the times of Ancient Rome. ANYWAY, I see MY Cato as just the "head honcho" or the "Papa Smurf" of the underground city of Barinak, so that's why I named him Cato, etc. Gabriel, I chose that to be "ironic," in a way. Like I've said before, I know a lot about names and its meanings to the point of **obsession**. So I thought it'd be "fun" to, since I'm obviously kinda getting "Bible-ish" with this story (but not **too** much), that I'd name him (whose name means "strong man of God") after one of the seven archangels in Hebrew tradition. You can kind of see his faith that things will improve back in chapter two and that there is still a God even after all that's happened to the world – AND to his daughter, Esmé (which of COURSE Gina already has suspicions of . . . Why do you read my stories, seriously, hun? You always speculate too much LoL), which I will explain in this chapter. Anyway, enjoy! LoL_

**WARNING:** PLEASE READ THIS STORY AT YOUR **OWN** RISK, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE EXTREMELY RELIGIOUS. WHILE I AM **NOT TRYING TO BE DISRESPECTFUL OR SACRILEGIOUS**, I MAY STILL END UP DOING SO FOR SOME OF YOU -- HENCE, THE WARNING, UNDERSTANDING, AND APOLOGY IN ADVANCE.

This chapter was created/written in July 2006.

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_"They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might." _**-- II Thessalonians 1:9 **

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After having taken a few minutes to collect herself as well as her bearings, Wilhelmina slowly rose from the slightly itchy, straw-made bed and followed the foreign man, Gabriel's advice to get dressed.

". . . I'd _better_, shouldn't I? Considering how I'm _practically_ giving the whole world a free '_peep show _. . .'" she softly whispered to herself, still feeling a bit groggy from what felt like a ten-year nap.

To tell the truth, the crimson haired being could not recall what had happened to her, or even where she had been prior to having fallen asleep. _Moreover_, she hadn't the slightest inkling as to where she was _now_, who those two people were, or why her tatterdemalion pajamas were now torn beyond repair.

Did that father and his daughter have something to do with it?

_No, **that** can't be. I mean, assuming I was** kidnapped** by them or something, why would that Gabriel guy give me new clothes to wear and then rush off with his kid to fix me **breakfast**? _Wilhelmina mentally reasoned after carelessly tossing aside her old pajamas and carefully pulled on the white colored, off-the-shoulder cotton-textured clothing.

It was actually rather flattering and unlike any other type of clothing she'd come across, with its unique sort of cross between Red Indian and Medieval-style peasant clothing. Wilhelmina especially liked the extremely comfortable white travel slippers, in addition to the black leather wide belt that fit so snugly around her (curiously slimmer as well as lengthier, she'd noted) waist while gazing down at her bare legs that her dress gave no shelter to.

It was at that very moment that Wilhelmina had at last focused upon her . . . _long_ hair?

"_What_ the --? My . . . my _hair_! I . . . it's a freaking_ forest_!" she cried out in alarm, her voice gaining more strength as she gripped some of her flaming red locks within both of her hands. She eyeballed the rest that showered straight down to her ankles and slightly curled at the tips. "The last time I'd checked, I still had my bob-styled hairdo! When did I suddenly become a _Chia Pet_?"

Suddenly, her brown eyes widened at the same time that her soft mouth hung open as her foggy mind began to at last unravel:

"_From this point on, you will no longer merely be known as the 'Keeper of the Heart of Candracar,' but as the 'Ultimate Savior,' fighting alongside the 'Protector of the Earth.' After you awaken from your dormancy, you will embark upon your search for your sister, and then the two of you will find 'the others.' Do not fear, for the Heart and the Core will guide you in your quest. Good luck, my young Guardian . . ."_

_So **that's** why I remembered some "warmth" and "bright lights,"_ thought Wilhelmina, while beginning to recall her encounter with the mystical Oracle during the last night before her eighteenth birthday and . . .

"The _end_ of the _world_ . . ." she murmured somberly to herself after releasing her river of hair from her grasp. "What a wonderful birthday present to wake up to . . ."

But then, as she thought of how the world now looked, Wilhelmina _also_ reflected upon the _one_ good news that the Oracle had delivered onto her:

Her twin sister was _alive_ and out there, _somewhere_, waiting for her . . .

"Ah! Will! I see that you have gotten dressed! It looks very becoming on you," complimented Gabriel, interrupting her thoughts as he and his daughter, Esmé, suddenly returned back into the room.

Within Esmé's tiny hands was cradled an equally small and cracked wooden bowl, filled to the rim with a mushy concoction that Wilhelmina hopefully assumed was porridge.

"_Oh_! I, um . . . t-_thanks_ . . . Gabriel, was it?" responded Wilhelmina, feeling her cheeks flush with embarrassment as she took in both father and daughter gape at her with extreme fascination and wonder.

_You'd think they'd never seen another human being before_, she thought inertly as she watched Esmé happily approach her and extend the bowl of food to her.

"Is this for me? Thank you, Esmé," said Wilhelmina in honest gratitude, her stomach, right on cue, beginning to growl uncontrollably in spite of her weariness of the meal's contents. ". . . Um, may I ask what's in it? I, uh . . . might be allergic," she added so as not to offend the family of her hesitance to ingest the alien dish.

"Oh, no worries, Will," replied Gabriel cheerfully, motioning his strong hand towards her to go right ahead and eat. "It's a milk pudding called 'Keşkül.' My grandfather used to make it for me all the time when I was a little boy . . . Of course, _his_ Keşkül was _a lot_ better than _this_ one, considering that we _are_ greatly limited in ingredients . . ."

Smiling softly in acknowledgment, Wilhelmina slowly looked away from Gabriel and the ever-grinning Esmé, and back down at the bowl of slightly lumpy Keşkül, this time with renewed interest. Licking her moderately dry lips, Wilhelmina raised the bowl to them, took a small sip and swallowed.

While she'd never eaten Keşkül before and was usually up for trying new dishes, she instantly regretted having done so. Gabriel's dish tasted like nothing more than faintly sweet and watery dirt.

As they watched Wilhelmina immediately scrunch her tawny hued face in distaste, Gabriel could not help but to lightly chuckle at the same time that Esmé clapped her hands repeatedly with amused glee.

"Well, as I said, it isn't exactly as _flavorful_ as my grandfather's original recipe -- if flavorful at _all_," snickered Gabriel as he affectionately tickled his daughter's sides, who continued to clap and peer up at Wilhelmina with happy eyes. "However, it has been said that 'hunger adds its own spice.'"

Blushing once more in embarrassment, Wilhelmina nodded slowly in agreement after coughing up a bit of the Keşkül.

". . . Y-yeah, I suppose that is true," she replied wholeheartedly, smiling gently in reassurance at the older man and his daughter. "Because _despite_ its . . . '_colorful_' taste, I'm _far_ too hungry to decline eating the rest."

True to form, Wilhelmina found herself practically inhaling and savoring every drop of the rest of her bitter-tasting breakfast meal with a vengeance.

". . . Thank you for breakfast, Gabriel and Esmé -- I appreciate the generous hospitality," said Wilhelmina genuinely after handing the empty bowl back to the only male in the room and blindly wiped her mouth clean of food residue with the back of her hand. "But I hope that I didn't interrupt _your_ breakfast, though, by my intrusion . . ."

Gabriel merely shook his head.

"N-no, Will! To be honest, Esme and I were getting rather tired of having Keşkul, and so thought that we'd try having something else," he responded, smiling warmly at her while holding onto the bowl with both hands. ". . . Of course, there isn't actually anything _else_ to eat, but --"

"-- _Wait_ a minute," interrupted Wilhelmina upon hearing this, her newly sedated and for once content insides now beginning to churn with discomfort and oncoming guilt, ". . . Are you trying to tell me that _this_ was the last of your food?"

Sighing, Gabriel nodded slowly at the same time that Esmé had moved closer to Wilhelmina, her tiny, slightly dirtied face reflecting the red head's newfound remorse.

". . . You truly _must_ not be from around here to be so surprised by this, Will," he remarked, motioning for both her to sit back down upon the straw-riddled bed. "This leads me to believe that . . . either you have somehow lost your memories, or . . . you were not here at the time of this new world's conception . . ."

Wilhelmina immediately stopped in her tracks just as she was about to move from her spot.

_Was_ this guy a friend or foe? Despite his generous hospitality, it was still truly hard to decipher. How did he figure out that she had been safely "tucked away" in Candracar during the world's end? _Moreover_, what plans did he have for her now that she was back on Earth?

"I, uh . . . I'm just still a bit out of it from my _nap_, and --"

"-- You needn't lie to me, Will. I know my assumptions to be true . . ." reaffirmed Gabriel as he turned to face her. ". . . Because your eyes still shine with_ life_ that is no longer seen within the eyes of my fellow inhabitants . . . none who continue bear witness to all of the suffering and torment delivered onto us by the great evil, that has been dwelling here since the start, would still have _any _kind of hope left . . ."

Narrowing her dull brown eyes, Wilhelmina looked at the back of Gabriel's equally brown head. She'd found it completely ironic that someone -- _anyone_ -- would refer to her eyes as inhabiting any other emotion besides hardening despair, detachment and resentment.

It effectively peeked her curiosity as to _exactly_ how bad the world had become to hear this, in _addition_ to make her feel guilty that _she_ was presumably the only one to have been lucky enough to have been spared being a part of its destruction . . .

". . . Yeah, well . . . I have been through my fair share of heartache, _trust_ me, so I'm really no different than anyone else . . ." remarked Wilhelmina, immediately feeling a bit foolish to have attempted to compare the trials and tribulations of her past to that of the rest of the agonized world.

"A-_anyway_," she continued, shaking her bright red head as though to jostle her increasingly brooding thoughts away, "Why is it that _you_ seem so _positive_ if 'all is lost?'"

Gabriel smiled warmly at this at the same time that he lightly hugged his daughter from behind.

". . . Because I still have faith for a better tomorrow . . . and because I seem to be the only one who can recall how the _old_ world used to be . . . So, I am continuously conscious as to what has been missing . . ." he revealed, causing Wilhelmina's eyebrows to furrow in confusion.

She could already sense that she was in for a rather extensive explanation by the docile man of the workings of this new world, and so held her tongue as best she could while finally sitting back down upon the straw-made bed.

Clearly Gabriel preferred that his daughter not be privy to the current ongoings, as he'd suddenly and silently handed to Esmé the empty bowl and gourd before gently tapping her behind to scoot her along out of the room.

Waiting until he was certain Esmé was gone (who looked extremely disappointed to do so), Gabriel cleared his throat and opened his mouth to resume his speaking.

"I am often ostracized, because, for whatever reason, I seem to be the only one within my village -- the _world_, even, perhaps -- capable of remembering the way things used to be . . ." he began solemnly, lightly ringing his hands together as though the current topic of discussion was too hard to reflect upon -- which was _precisely_ what Wilhelmina assumed it was.

"Now . . . whether or not you _yourself_ can recall the ways and days of the old world, I am unsure -- although, the way you seemed so lost and unsettled of everything as it is now perhaps you _can_ . . . I do not honestly believe that anyone _could_ if they had the _choice_ . . . This world . . . and the world of old are so completely unlike the other . . . it breaks my heart to know that my daughter is too young to remember the previous world's glorious nature . . . that this is the only world she truly knows . . ."

Wilhelmina, who had been fighting the urge to interrupt the increasingly open and emotional man standing before her, could no longer do so.

"U-um . . . I'm sorry, here, but . . . I was honestly wondering about Esmé," she began carefully, struggling to find the right words to convey her increasingly curious thoughts in regards to the friendly little girl. "She doesn't . . . well, she doesn't strike me as the shy type, given how she seems to almost want to study me like a science project or something . . . So . . . I was --"

"-- Wondering why she doesn't speak?" Gabriel finished the startled redhead's thoughts, his turn to interrupt.

He smiled sadly at Wilhelmina's flushed face as he sighed lightly.

"Please do not feel bad. It's an honest question, as well as honest observation . . . You see . . . Esmé's larynx has been severed, rendering her mute . . ."

Although not psychic, Wilhelmina had a distinct feeling that the reasons behind the happy child's physical befalling were somehow connected to this new world.

Sure enough, as she finished with her speculations, Gabriel had managed to confirm them.

". . . I can still remember, so vividly, the day of the Conception," he began shakily, rubbing the back of his neck a bit vigorously. "We were returning home from visiting relatives -- that is, my wife, Gilda, Esmé and myself were returning home from our visit . . . Gilda had made the passing comment that the weather had grown 'a bit peculiar,' despite it having been Wintertime . . . But because we were nearly home and it had snowed and sleeted earlier on that week, I had thought nothing of it and had told her to do the same . . . I had no idea that Gilda would be _right_ to be concerned . . . Never did make it home before . . . before it had happened . . ."

". . . The _end_ . . ." murmured Wilhelmina, causing Gabriel to nod slowly in acknowledgment. "How . . . how did it all start? How did it occur?"

For the first time since interacting with the disheveled man, Wilhelmina saw that Gabriel's green eyes had grown vacant and glazed over with reflective sadness and despair, causing her to feel guilty once more for forcing him to delve into an obviously painful happening.

But if she had _any_ chance of surviving within this new world, she figured that she had better find out as much about it as possible.

". . . Then you truly _were_ somehow spared from witnessing its destruction, _after all _. . . I do not know whether to regard you as '_lucky_' or '_unfortunate_,' now that you have returned . . ." remarked Gabriel with a heavy heart, moving from his spot to take an awkward seat next to Wilhelmina.

". . . I am just thankful that Esmé had been able to have one last peaceful slumber before . . . before the sky had turned blood red and the ground suddenly grew boiling hot and exploded . . . Before the snow immediately began to melt away once the sea of molten lava flooded over the ground . . .

It was a good thing that I had stopped my car at a red light and was able to safely evacuate my family from out of it as a result -- who _knows _what would have happened had the car been in motion during this time . . ."

Wilhelmina lightly inclined her head in understanding at this, while her mind rapidly tried to process what had been said.

_**Molten lava**? The ground **exploding**? Suddenly, I'm almost feeling a little less **pissed off** and **disgusted** by the Oracle for "whisking" me away from Earth in the nick of time -- **almost** . . . _she thought with mixed emotion, before asking an increasingly flustered Gabriel,

"S-so . . . that sounded pretty dangerous, Gabriel. How did . . . did you manage to survive?"

Gabriel sighed once more, slowly shaking his head.

"I don't honestly know, Will -- _fate_, I suppose . . . Because as I was rushing to get my family to higher, safer ground alongside other terrified families, that's when . . . when '_they_' began to appear . . ."

"_They_?" queried Wilhelmina, unconsciously leaning closer to the older individual in anxious anticipation.

". . . _Demons_," Gabriel revealed with intermingled bitterness and fear, causing the crimson haired beauty to gasp in honest surprise.

"_Whoa_! **_What_**? **_D-demons_**? As in, the kind you only see in movies, or read about in fictional books, and make you thankful that they don't really _exist_? **_Those_** kind?" gushed Wilhelmina, beginning to feel sick to her stomach.

True, she was not and _still_ was not thrilled to reprise her role as a Guardian. However, she had surmised that whatever new, major evil that the Oracle _unfortunately _wanted _her_ to face would be nothing more than yet _another _power-hungry individual that she would eventually bring down.

_But** this** changes **everything**. How in the **hell **am **I** supposed to take down **demons**?_ she thought with increased nerves, worrying for not only herself but for her twin -- _wherever_ she happened to be.

_I hope she's safe . . ._

"H-how are you able to _coexist_ with actual, real live _demons_, Gabriel?" Wilhelmina pressed on, her head swimming.

". . . Just _barely_, Will. Just _barely_ . . ." the middle aged man replied tightly, while Wilhelmina continued to search his face for more answers. "A lot of us -- the human race, that is -- did not survive that first night when the demons began their reign . . . Those with wings swooped down from the eerily crimson-painted sky and picked us off one by one . . . While those _without _wings effortlessly pounced upon the remaining humans struggling to get as far away from impending doom as possible.

That was the last thing that I can recall -- and _saw_ of the old world -- before my family and I had suddenly fallen through the ground while fleeing for our lives . . . into a rather large burrow of some sort, I suppose. After that . . . when I had come to, I was surrounded by _other_ survivors who'd decided to take refuge there _with _us.

And that was when we had _all _begun our new lives -- such as they were -- underground. I do not really know _why_, but it seems that, so long as we cover our scent -- with dirt or what have you -- then the demons are unable to track us . . . I guess that is why I hadn't woken up in _Heaven_ instead that night . . ."

Wilhelmina breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this news.

_All right. So then all I have to do is carry a **sack of dirt** with me at all times and make sure to stay below ground and I should be just fine . . ._

"I see . . . But . . . that still doesn't explain why Esmé is mute," she said slowly, witnessing Gabriel's body turn rigid.

"Yes, Will . . . it most certainly _does_," he breathed tiredly, burying his face within his calloused hands for few moments before returning his attention back onto the redhead at his side. "Obviously, we need nourishment to survive, and so while continuing to burrow, a few of us had courageously volunteered to go above ground to see if food could not be found. However, that was when it had gone horribly, _horribly_ wrong . . .

A demon -- small in size, but fierce in strength, it had been -- had caught sight of the individuals searching for food, and . . . completely shredded and devoured them . . . However, one had managed to make it back here, unwittingly leading the demon straight to the _rest_ of us by following his scent . . .

We were all forced to once more scramble for our lives, as the fiend made its way down into the burrow and tried to have at all of us . . . I had immediately sent Gilda on ahead of me with Esmé, as those two are my life . . . _were_ my life . . ." Gabriel trailed off as his voice cracked, a dry sob escaping from his cracked lips.

Wilhelmina furrowed her brows, her normally closed off heart beginning to reach out to the obviously brokenhearted man. She was all _too_ familiar with heartache and loss, and it was clear to her that that was _exactly_ what Gabriel had been unfortunate to experience on that day . . .

True enough . . .

"I do not know what possessed us -- possessed _me_ to have Esmé try to _run_ instead of just _carrying_ her . . . Her little legs could not have _possibly_ kept up with the rest of us while trying to escape," whispered Gabriel as his emerald eyes began to water.

". . . In our scurry, Esmé had fallen down . . . _God_, she was so _scared_ . . . I do not know if that . . . _beast_ preferred 'live _young_' as its ideal feast in comparison to the rest of us who were older, but it had _completely_ bypassed the people surrounding it and went straight for _her_ . . .

And Gilda . . . B . . . Before I could even react, she had gotten to Esmé before _I_ had . . . and had managed to pick up and push Esmé out of harms' way -- out of the _demon's_ way . . . But not before its spiked tail had whipped around and slashed against her throat, while it . . . it had descended upon _Gilda_ instead and . . . and . . ."

Gabriel could no longer carry on, and quite frankly, Wilhelmina did not even want him to try. If there was one thing that was truly universal among the living and could be understood fluently without fail, it was death and of the pain as well as anguish it bestowed upon those left behind to endure.

As she was forced to watch the older man completely break down and mourn the tragic loss of wife to something so _utterly_ inhuman, Wilhelmina suddenly found that she could honestly compare herself to poor little Esmé.

The two of them had both lost their mothers at such a young age. Granted, Wilhelmina had been approximately _ten years older_ than Esmé when _her_ mother had died, and so Wilhelmina most likely had _far_ more memories as a result.

Regardless, it still did not subtract away from the emotional affliction or the bouts of loneliness . . .

_At least **I'm** still able to **remember** Mom_, Wilhelmina thought sadly with a sigh. _I doubt that Esmé can do the same . . ._

"I . . . I'm sorry for your loss, Gabriel --_ really_," she said with great sympathy, hesitantly reaching out to pat the back of the sobbing man's tattered back.

"T . . . Thank you, Will. Oh, gosh, it has been . . . been so_ long_ since I'd openly spoken about my wife . . . It feels wondrous to let it all out . . ." whispered Gabriel, wiping away his fallen tears away from his face.

"But . . . I feel _most_ sorry for _Esmé's _loss . . . True, she was lucky that we had been able to stop the bleeding of her wound and there is miraculously minimal to no visible scarring . . . Still, that does not diminish the costs, or the fact that she will live the rest of her life without the use of her wonderful voice, as well as without her glorious mother . . .

She was about . . . four when the old world had ended and when her mother had died . . . Time seems to go _far_ slower than normal within this _new_ world, so I _could_ be mistaken, but . . . I believe that that was about three and a half years ago . . ."

Wilhelmina felt herself grow nauseous by this news. _Three and a half years_ ago? She'd been asleep and away from the Earth for _three and half years_?

_Well, that certainly explains the excessive **hair** and **body **growth_, she thought in disbelief. _Happy belated nineteenth, twentieth,** and** twenty-first birthday to me . . ._

"Uh . . . T-true, G-Gabriel," Wilhelmina murmured in a bit of a daze from the startling revelation, trying to shake off her shock and upset as she returned to the original topic of conversation. ". . . Mother is God in the eyes of a child . . ."

At this, both Gabriel _and_ Wilhelmina gasped in surprise.

". . . My _Gilda_ used to say the very same thing . . . How _uncanny_ . . ." he said softly as he gazed up at her with a small smile upon his fatigued visage, obviously beginning to feel comforted by the redhead's familiar words.

_Wilhelmina_, on the other hand, as she realized what she had said, felt a bit embarrassed by it.

"_Oh_! Sorry, I . . . It was just something that _my_ mother used to say to me -- _especially_ whenever we would _fight_. I suppose she meant it as a _joke_ or to make me feel _guilty_ that I would be mad at her for even a _second _. . . I haven't thought about that saying of hers in such a long while . . ." she quietly explained, drawing her eyebrows down into an uneasy frown as she felt her brown eyes tearing up.

Drying the rest of his _own_ tears, Gabriel nodded in understanding at the same time that the life that had been formerly housed within his eyes began to return.

"Your mother sounds like a very smart woman, Will . . . Come to think of it, why is she not _with_ you?" he asked curiously, at the same moment that Wilhelmina immediately rose from her spot on the bed and faced away from the inquiring man.

_Oh, God, not now . . . **No** tears, Will! You haven't cried, **period** in the **longest** time! **Don't** start **now**! _she mentally scolded as she took a deep breath and furiously batted away her unshed tears with her eyelids.

". . . My mother is _also _dead, Gabriel . . ." she replied as solidly as she could, taking another deep breath before turning back around to face the sympathetic man. "And before you ask, it was _well_ before this . . . 'new world' was created . . . My entire family had died before all of this, actually -- well, with the exception of my _sister_ . . . My_ twin_ sister . . ."

Standing up from the bed, Gabriel nodded once more as he approached her.

"I owe you _my_ condolences then, Will . . . Family is absolutely _everything_ -- **_especially_** within a world as this. I can tell, though, that you are a pretty safeguarded young woman, and so I will not pry as to the whereabouts of your _sister_. However, I _do_ hope that you find her," he remarked, gently resting a hand upon Wilhelmina's bare shoulder in comfort. "I do not know _what_ I would do if I had ever lost _Esmé_ as well . . ."

Without warning, there came sudden, sharp shrieks of distress resonating throughout the area.

"W-_what_ the --!" cried Gabriel in alarm, as both he and Wilhelmina immediately turned their attention onto the blanketed doorway. "Will! Stay here, please!"

"H-_hey_! W-_wait_ a second!" Wilhelmina called out to the man in surprise, watching him rush out of the room and towards whatever was the matter outside. ". . . _Wonderful_. Only been conscious for about _forty minutes_ or so, and _already_ chaos has ensued . . . Story of my life."

Taking in yet _another_ deep inhale, Wilhelmina braced herself as best she could before blindly rushing out of the room to face the unknown.

**-- End of Chapter Three**

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**(A.N. Yep. 'Nother mother-effin' cliffhanger. Annoying, yeah? Meh. LoL But this chapter's kinda long. Not really, no. Seven pages. LoL For ME and MY writing, that's VERY short. But still. It's not bad. Anyway, you will never know the trouble this chapter has caused me, honestly – hence the grand delay in its debut. But I wanted to try to explain how things are now in this sucky, demon-infested world and set the tone, without overloading you readers in one shot. Let's you and Will learn you as go, huh? LoL **

**Oh, right! Another comment about the name choices. Gabe's wife's name is Gilda also on purpose, because it means "sacrifice," as I understand it. And duh, obviously she sacrificed herself so that both Esmé and Gabriel could escape and live on. Very sad, yes. But, hey. I'm good at doing sad. LoL**

**One more note. If you haven't or don't check my profile to read about my updates, please do. In it, I've provided the link to Senshi of Valis's own sequel version to my "Requiem for a Dream" story. It's called "The Light and the Dark" and is so far pretty interesting . . . although, admittedly, Sitara's a bit . . . "happier" than I could ever picture her, but oh well. She's my "baby," and deserves happiness. Obviously not by MY hand, but yeah. LoL Anyway, check out that sequel as well. Later!**

**P.S. Before someone "attacks" me, NO, I am not trying to imply that Keşkül tastes like dirt. I've actually had it before and I find it very tasty. I was simply trying to display the little to no ingredients to make proper food in this new world. Food, period, really. So yeah. Oh, and yes, if the "Mother is God in the eyes of a child" comment seems familiar, you're probably thinking of it from the sadly crappy "Silent Hill" movie. But honestly, my own mommy would sometimes say something to that effect well before I had heard it being said in the movie, so yeah. Plus, there's also that one really interesting poem by the same name that I like and . . . okay. LoL) **


	5. Chapter Four: Dissolution

**Chapter Four: "Dissolution"**

**By: Sokai**

**Disclaimer: **I, Sokai, do not claim ownership to the workings of W.I.T.C.H. -- I leave _that_ honor up to Elisabetta Gnone. However, I can and DO claim to own this story and its inspired ideas FROM said series, as well as the original character, Sitara Vandom.

Note: Yay!! Gasp! I have returned, and have finally updated this story!! No more harrassment (for now, at least LoL) from you guys!! A.K.A., Inferno05. LoL Think of this as a nice X-mas present or something. LoL Enjoy!

**WARNING:** PLEASE READ THIS STORY AT YOUR **OWN** RISK, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE EXTREMELY RELIGIOUS. WHILE I AM **NOT TRYING TO BE DISRESPECTFUL OR SACRILEGIOUS**, I MAY STILL END UP DOING SO FOR SOME OF YOU -- HENCE, THE WARNING, UNDERSTANDING, AND APOLOGY IN ADVANCE.

This chapter was created/written in September 2006.

* * *

_"When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: 'Death is swallowed up in victory.' O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?" **-- 1 Corinthians 15:54-55**_

* * *

_What are you **doing**? You should turn around right now and escape with the others!_ screamed Wilhelmina's voice in a bit of slight panic, while at the same time that her wobbly, Jello-like legs continued to carry her down towards impending peril. 

What _was_ she doing? She'd just finished finding out that she now resided within a demon-infested world (all of which would be all too eager to munch on an arm or leg of hers -- _especially_ within her still weak and groggy state), and yet she was now nonetheless on her way to try to be of assistance to _whatever _was the matter -- big or small.

It did not make any sense, especially since this was not her normal behavior.

Wilhelmina had positively washed her hands of helping others, as well as interfering and other such acts years ago. And yet, suddenly, in one shot, that mentality and resolve seemed to have evaporated. It was ironic that, it would appear as though she was regaining bits of her old compassion within a world now devoid of said emotion.

After managing to carefully maneuver around the fleeing Barinak inhabitants, Wilhelmina finally caught up to Gabriel, who was curiously collapsed onto his knees with his head bowed. As she'd gotten close enough, Wilhelmina could then understand why, as she tuned into the crying man's frazzled conversation with a grizzled, elderly man standing frail, yet sternly before him.

"_Come_ now, Gabriel! You have _no one_ to blame for this but _yourself! _It was not the _first _time that you'd gone on a scavenger mission above ground, and so _therefore_ you knew of what to do and how to handle things!" scolded the antiquated male as Wilhelmina approached and stood behind Gabriel. "But you just _had _to 'take pity' upon some . . . _harlot_ who could very well be _diseased!_"

"_Excuse _me? I'm standing right _here_, you know," interjected Wilhelmina in offense, glaring inappreciatively at the old man, before crouching behind Gabriel to help him back onto his feet.

"Well, I am very glad to see that you have arrived in time to hear my disapproval of your _presence_, young woman. Thanks to _you_, you have _singlehandedly_ put _all_ of our lives in danger! Pardon me, you _and_ Gabriel!" exclaimed the whithered male fiercely, returning the piercing stare that Wilhelmina continued to deliver onto him.

Gabriel, meanwhile, continued to sob uncontrollably while the chaos of villagers fleeing for their lives _also_ continued to ensue.

"C-Cato . . . p-_please! _Do not blame Will! Y-you are _right!_ I _am_ t-to blame!" he cried miserably, green eyes glistening with feverish tears. "But, _please!_ I _beg_ of you! Do not allow my daughter to be _martyred_ for _my_ mistakes! Just reopen the pathway so that I can get to her!"

The aged man apparently known as Cato gruffly sighed in disaffect at this.

"_Out_ of the question! The pathway is to _remain_ closed, _regardless_ of whether or not there are a few unfortunate souls to remain behind in the process -- and that _includes_ your . . . _precious _daughter!

She _probably_ was not even _meant_ to survive within this world for as long as she has, _anyhow_, what with her encounter with these demonic creatures once _before!_"

This hurtful remark caused Gabriel to inhale sharply in equally hurtful surprise before sobbing harder. _Wilhelmina_, on the other hand, felt that this low blow was the final straw.

And so, before Gabriel nor Cato knew what was happening, Wilhelmina moved from her spot behind Gabriel and placed herself less than four inches away from Cato. Because she was taller than he was, she drastically towered over him as she leered down upon him with disgusted anger.

"That's _it!_ I don't care _who_ you are, or who you _think_ you are,_ old man! _It's _one_ thing to freaking rag on _me_ for being the 'outsider' of this _backwards_ civilization, or even _Gabriel_ for, oh, _I _don't know, actually having _compassion!_

But you _will not_ stand there and tell the father of a little girl, who's probably frightened out of her _mind _wherever she is right now, that she was _'destined'_ to die at the beginning stages of her life!" spat Wilhelmina ferociously, causing Cato, Gabriel, as well as the two men who were seemingly on guard duty for the large, circular stone "door" before her to gasp simultaneously in surprise.

Cato, despite his best efforts to look unaffected, nonetheless visibly cringed in fear as he began to stammer in response.

"Y-y-_you _--! Y-you _cannot_ speak t-to me in s-such a _manner!_ I-I have a _right _mind t-to --"

"-- To _what? _Kick me out of this _dumb ass_ 'village?' Don't _bother!_ I'm _gone_ after this, anyway!" interrupted Wilhelmina in annoyance, her upset boiling and brown eyes alight with resentment. "But you _will_ reopen that freaking door, or _whatever_ it is! And, hey! How's _this _for even _more_ incentive to do so: _I _will go in there to get Esmé,_ myself!_"

At this, Gabriel could no longer stand idly by and say nothing.

"W-_what?_ Will, _no!_ This is _not_ your cause! I cannot ask you to do this for me!" he said in alarm, wiping away a few stray tears away from his face before gently seizing both of Wilhelmina's bare arms after moving to her side.

Wilhelmina, still glaring daggers at the now frowning, yet shivering elderly man before her, replied softly to the younger man next to her,

"You _didn't_ ask me, Gabriel. But I'm _still _doing it. It's only fair, after all that you have done and risked for me, even though you didn't have to. So say what you will, but I'm_ still _going in there to get your daughter back to you."

_**Whoa**. Did that just come out of **my** mouth?_ thought Wilhelmina in astonishment. _So much for not wanting to get involved . . ._

_Regardless,_ to allow an innocent child to be sacrificed so that heartless cowards like Cato could live (despite his appearing as though he had lived _several lifetimes_) was something that Wilhelmina could not bring herself to allow it to occur.

Pausing a moment, Cato frowned lightly at the same time that he slowly nodded in yielding.

". . . So be it. Whether or not you find the girl and make it out of this debacle alive matters not to me. I will reopen the doorway, but will not do so again once you have entered, as the _rest_ of us will be heading to safety in the lower levels of the village. So therefore, this means that, if _you_, Gabriel, want to be reunited with your daughter, you will go with this . . . _woman_, and find your _own_ way back," he instructed as severely as he could, shifting his cold, beady eyes away from Wilhelmina and onto Gabriel.

Gabriel nodded slowly in understanding.

"T-_thank_ you, Cato! I know the passageways well enough to lead Will along, anyhow," he complied, bowing his brown colored head slightly in gratitude.

Wilhelmina backed away from Cato, and watched as he didn't bother to respond to this and instead merely snapped his brittle fingers to signal to the two men behind him to move the large stone circle blockade out of the way.

Gabriel turned to Wilhelmina as Cato moved out of their way.

"Will . . . please. There is still time to back down. Please do not feel as though you owe me any sort of favors by going in there to rescue Esmé," he said softly, placing both of his hands onto the redhead's shoulders.

Wilhelmina merely shook her head at this, and gently peeled the obviously enervated man off of her.

"_No_, Gabriel. As_ unbelievably_ crass and _annoying _as he is, 'old dude' has a point. Had it _not_ been for me, you wouldn't have been distracted, and would've remembered to cover yours and Esmé's scents, or whatever you had to do. It _is_ my fault that the demon followed you and that Esmé's now _trapped_ somewhere with it . . ."

Sighing sadly and in fear at the thought, Gabriel could only stare back at Wilhelmina with his emerald colored orbs that slowly began to water once more.

Seeing him so distraught and beside himself with worry over his only child's status made Wilhelmina think about her mother once more, and how if it had been _Wilhelmina_ to be in Esmé's place, Wilhelmina's mother would most likely have moved both Heaven and Earth to get to her.

_The things you realize after it's too late_, thought Wilhelmina as a sharp pain filtered into her heart.

"Will? Are you all right?" she heard Gabriel ask in concern, thankfully bringing her back to the present. It still hurt _far _too much for Wilhelmina to reflect upon her tragic past for too long -- or at _all_, if she could avoid doing so (although she seemed to be _prone_ to doing so a lot, ever since she first regained consciousness after her three year slumber).

Not wishing for the gentle-oriented man to dwell upon her feelings any further, Wilhelmina forced a smile and nodded swiftly.

"Y-yeah, Gabriel, I am. Let's just go and bring your daughter back," she replied quietly, before taking a deep breath and walked forward and into the reopened and dimly lit pathway, with Gabriel following close behind.

**§.§.§**

After several minutes of traveling down an intricate, winding path with Gabriel now in the lead (as Wilhelmina naturally did not know her way around the unique city), he at last abruptly stopped her and let out a sharp gasp.

Wilhelmina did not have to bother to guess why the man was suddenly so startled, as her brown eyes regrettably met with a small scene of random, bloodied up body parts that decorated the steep path before them.

"_Argh _. . . I-I think . . . think I'm going to be --" Gabriel managed to utter before beginning to retch violently in sickness.

_. . . My sentiments exactly . . . _thought Wilhelmina morosely, as she turned her lithe body both away from Gabriel (who was now hunched over, vomiting uncontrollably), as well as the horrid display. She truly _did_ feel extremely ill, _herself_, feeling her body grow tense and cold.

However, nothing would come out. The setting greatly (and unfortunately) reminded Wilhelmina of her past once again . . . Of the day that she'd lost all four of her best friends and fellow Guardians of the Veil, in a similar, gruesome manner . . .

"C . . . Come on, Gabriel . . . There's nothing that we can do for them . . . but there may be still hope for _Esmé_ . . . At least now we know that we're on the right track and getting close . . ." murmured Wilhelmina softly, helping the still woozy man back onto his feet at the same time that she secretly wished to forget all about her old life.

"Y-yes . . . You are right, Will . . . We _must_ keep moving . . ." Gabriel weakly agreed, bashfully wiping his mouth clear of body waste. ". . . B . . . but . . . does this sight not affect _you _as well?"

Wilhelmina sighed heavily at this, while the two of them wearily continued on down the path, with Wilhelmina this time in the lead.

". . . I guess . . . I've just gotten . . . '_desensitized'_ to these sorts of things after a while . . ." she hollowly replied, keeping her eyes focused on the far distance.

Gabriel's green eyes widened in surprise at this.

"One does not normally come across such tragedies as . . . as _this_, Wilhelmina . . . even within an _equally_ tragic world as ours . . . I do not mean to pry as I had said that I would not earlier, but it just makes me wonder the sort of life you had led up until now . . ."

Wilhelmina continued on walking ahead of the inquisitive man for several moments, her creamy visage wrinkling into a tight grimace before quietly responding,

". . . Same here, Gabriel . . . Same here . . ."

Several more minutes of silent walking (_thankfully_, as far as Wilhelmina was concerned) at last came to an end the moment there came an undeniable and horrid sound of . . . bones breaking?

Or, worse yet, being _chewed_ upon.

Sure enough, as Wilhelmina and Gabriel rounded an upcoming corner, there, in the reasonable and thankful distance, was the culprit -- the dreaded, spike-riddled, four-legged and olive colored demon they had been bravely (or insanely) looking for.

And, more importantly, there was little Esmé, seemingly unharmed and lying unconscious just a mere feet away from the calamitous creature.

The spike-demon apparently fancied on saving Esmé last as though for dessert, as it was preoccupied with feasting upon the scattered remains of one of the unfortunate Barinak villagers. Other unrecognizable pieces of human debris surrounded the beast and its remaining prey.

Wilhelmina, as she had never seen anything so frightening in all of her adventures and _misadventures_ as a Guardian, found herself at last feeling affected and positively paralyzed with excruciating fear at the sight.

Gabriel, whether or not_ he_ was panic-stricken, it was hard to say. For, before Wilhelmina could properly react, she felt herself being roughly knocked over as he barreled on ahead.

"_Esmé! _I am here! Daddy's come to save you!" he cried anxiously, as well as a bit foolhardily, causing the vicious, red eyed demon to immediately veer its attention onto him.

"Gabriel, _no!_ Come _back!_ You don't know what you're --" called out Wilhelmina in vain, beginning to rush after the hysterical man before deciding instead to tactfully duck behind the large boulder that was in front of her. Although she did want to help older individual, she knew that following after Gabriel would most likely be the last thing she ever did, leaving Esmé doomed to perish, anyhow.

As leader to the other Guardians of the Veil, Wilhelmina had been frequently faced with reaching different, difficult decisions as the one she was currently facing all of the time -- but that fact never made the act any easier.

_Especially not this one_, she thought in qualmish deploring, feeling herself begin to lightly hyperventilate as she began to hear the shrieking, helpless cries of incontestable death taking place for the kind young man who had taken mercy upon the redhead and brought her into his home.

_. . . This really **is** all my fault . . . He should have just **left** me out there . . . _mentally reflected Wilhelmina with strong guilt as the cries in the distance suddenly fell silent.

"_No_ . . . I _can't_ feel sorry for myself. I said that I would help save Esmé, and _damn it_, that's what I'm gonna do . . . even _if_ there's no saving Gabriel -- or _myself_, for that matter . . ." she said aloud in growing determination, squeezing her honey-brown eyes shut in concentration to begin trying to summon forth the Heart of Candracar for the first time, technically, in years.

Nothing, however, happened.

"Of _course!_ Because having the Heart to back me up in this fight _would_ have been too _easy!_" groaned Wilhelmina, before reaching for the moderately sized rock that was at her side and rising to her feet.

To her surprise as well as relief, the skewered demon had its back to Wilhelmina once more, and had incredulously gone back to its previous meal. To her _horror_, however, lying bloodied and battered upon his torso several feet behind the monster, was Gabriel. It appeared as though he had been violently catapulted towards the wall, courtesy of the beastly foe's spiked, thick and forceful tail.

Her fear rising once more at the sight, Wilhelmina took a deep breath and carefully as well as quietly began to approach the demon. Her heart racing profusely, Wilhelmina fleetly threw the rock, not _at_ the creature (as she knew that it would ultimately do nothing more than agitate it, before it decided to kill her next), but _over_ it and further down the continuing path.

It was her hope that the fiend would grow suspicious, greedy and wish to seek out whatever new prey might be lurking, long enough for her to grab Esmé and run. Unfortunately for Wilhelmina, however, not only did the demon _not_ do anything of the sort, but it promptly swung around to peer menacingly at her, as though to say,

". . . You time has just run _out_."

Not expecting this to happen, Wilhelmina let out a startled cry and fell backward, right when the demon alarmingly leaped into the air and lunged towards her.

_. . . This is it. I'm going to die, like Gabriel, and so too will Esmé . . . And I won't ever get to see my sister again . . ._ she thought as she closed her eyes and awaited the end to come, counting on the devilish creature's fangs to pierce straight into her jugular . . . but nothing of the sort ever transpired.

That is, Wilhelmina did not feel any immense pain, as she resigned herself to her fate. Instead, the cardinal haired woman suddenly felt a familiar, searing sensation of the Heart of Candracar pulsating violently within her hand . . . Only, it wasn't only within her hand that she felt this, but instantly throughout her entire _body_, as it grew to the point of white-hot affliction.

There was something _very _different about it . . .

Gasping, Wilhelmina opened her eyes to see a black aura suddenly surrounding the demon, as it curiously remained suspended in midair directly over her. Moreover, Wilhelmina was even _more_ surprised to see that her _own _body was glowing the same sable hue, and that a mysterious "line" was connecting the two of them . . . as though she was being drained of energy.

If that truly _was_ the case, however, Wilhelmina did not understand why she suddenly felt herself more energized and fortified with increasing strength than she ever had since first waking up a few hours before (and why the evil ghoul began to look a bit whithered in contrast).

Flabbergasted at the continued ongoing for a few more moments, Wilhelmina quickly rolled onto her hands and knees to propel herself up onto her feet. Then, without thinking, she swiftly raced back over to the boulder she had used for concealing protection and picked it up straight over her head, curiously without any sort of trouble.

Too dazed to wonder how she was able to do such a thing, or why she bothered to try in the _first _place, Wilhelmina ran back over to the immobile monster and let out an angry cry as she roughly brought down the boulder straight onto its head (the only part of its body not littered with immensely sharp spikes), with greater force than humanly possible.

The otherworldly creature let out a painful shriek before the harsh sound of its skull breaking open immediately muddled it, instantly killing it. Wilhelmina jumped back in alarm and disgust as a great torrent of black tinted blood spilled forth from the carcass's head and onto the floor. Wilhelmina felt herself begin to feel a bit ill yet again as she watched the scene and regrettably felt some of the blood land onto her chest and face.

Shakily dropping the boulder onto the ground, Wilhelmina was about to furiously wipe away at her face when she suddenly felt her body grow rigid and grotesquely hot. She opened her mouth to let out a scream of pain, but nothing would come out as the black aura that continued to surround her grew stronger at the same time that the demon's lessened.

The moment only lasted for several seconds before it passed, and Wilhelmina was able to move once again and the dark aura dissipated until it was completely gone. The pain seemed to have left an imprint upon the solitary young woman, despite it too beginning to cease. Never had she felt anything so intense in all of her life, and throughout all of her previous battles -- and, quite frankly, it honestly scared the daylights out of her . . .

Feeling supremely disoriented, Wilhelmina fell heavily onto her knees, breathing heavily.

". . . W . . . What was _that?_" she feebly said to herself, her head bowed and causing her river of red hair to spill all around her in the process. Inhaling, Wilhelmina crawled over to Esmé's still body and lightly shook her, hoping to revive her.

"H-hey . . . Esmé . . . wake up . . . You're safe, now . . ." she breathed, lifting the little girl's body onto her legs for support. Thankfully, Wilhelmina felt as well as saw Esmé's dishwater blonde head begin to turn as she slowly woke up.

"_Esmé!_ You're all right!" she said in relief, blindly stroking the girl's head in comfort as she turned her attention onto the child's deceased father.

_. . . Too bad I can't say the same for **him** . . . _thought the brown-eyed girl sadly, exhaling to a great extent.

Suddenly, Wilhelmina heard a sharp cough emitting from Gabriel's bloodied organic structure as she watched him too slowly stir.

"Oh, my _God_ . . ." she whispered in surprise and disbelief, before turning her attention back onto Esmé.

". . . Uh . . . Esmé, s . . . stay here, okay? Don't move . . . " she instructed quietly, gently sliding the girl's body off of her and purposely faced her towards the wall and away from the "disaster zone" for protection.

". . . Gabriel . . ._ Gabriel _. . . are you okay?" stupidly asked Wilhelmina in a hushed whisper so that Esmé would not be able to hear. She slowly reached out and rolled Gabriel onto his back and nearly cried out due to the sight of his almost unrecognizable, bloodied face.

". . . Oh, _God_ . . . Gabriel . . . I'm so _sorry_ . . . This . . . this is all my fault . . ."

Gabriel slowly and weakly raised a bruised hand up to his lips and managed to smile slightly.

". . . Don't . . . You are not to blame. I . . . I . . . owe you the _world_ . . . for saving . . . saving . . . Esmé . . . _Have_ you?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. The display, Gabriel's fatal predicament, that is, was extremely bothersome to Wilhelmina, because it was also _extremely _reminiscent of . . .

Shaking her head in attempts to escape from the most painful of all of her negative memories, Wilhelmina forced a smile of her own onto her dirtied face.

". . . Y-you . . . Esmé's safe, yes . . ."

". . . Good . . . Th . . . thank you . . . I wish . . . that I could see her . . . one last time . . ." said Gabriel tiredly, looking at Wilhelmina with increasingly glazed over eyes.

This declaration caused a chill to run up Wilhelmina's spine, as she shook her crimson head violently in rebuttal.

"_What? _You can see her right _now --_ or _anytime_, for that matter! Here, I'll bring her to --"

"-- _No_, Will . . . No . . . I want my daughter's memory of me to be _positive_, and not to see me so . . . diminished . . ." said Gabriel, abruptly coughing up blood. Wilhelmina winced at the sight, not hesitating to reach out to wipe some of it away from his mouth with the back of her hand.

". . . Gabriel . . . _please_. Don't talk like that -- or at _all_, actually. You need to save your strength. And then, when you're feeling up to it, we'll go --"

"-- Do not be so naive, Wilhelmina . . . You know as well as I that I am done for . . . At . . . least . . . I will be reunited with my beloved Gilda . . . but will be leaving our little girl in the process . . . Will . . . I must . . . ask of you a huge favor . . . a last wish . . ."

". . . What?" frowned Wilhelmina in affect, looking at him with confused worry. ". . . I . . . uh . . . all right . . ."

Gabriel sighed lightly in relief at this.

"I . . . want you to look . . . after Esmé . . . Take her with you, wherever you may go . . ."

Wilhelmina gasped in shock. Of all of the things she thought Gabriel would have asked, she did _not_ expect him to ask her to inherit custody of his only child.

"W-_what? _I-I _can't!_ I --"

"-- _Please_ . . . The other villagers have never . . . never really cared for her, as Cato 'graciously' illustrated for you . . . And _now_, for this mess . . . they will _never_ truly accept her back into the village . . . _Please_ . . . I have a strong, good feeling about you . . . from the start . . . You possess a great . . ._ strength _within you, that I know . . . know will keep you _and _my daughter safe . . . _please _. . ."

Biting down onto her lip in deep contemplation, Wilhelmina at last slowly nodded in relent.

". . . All right . . . _All right_, I'll do it . . . I'll look after Esmé . . ." she said, unsure of how she would be able to do just that, when she was still unsure of how she would be able to look out for _herself_.

Gabriel smiled a bit broader, gently squeezing Wilhelmina's hand in appreciation.

"_Thank you_ . . . Gilda . . . and I are _forever _grateful . . ." he said weakly, before he gasped sharply, his breathing suddenly stopping thereafter.

Wilhelmina closed her eyes shut upon seeing this.

". . . God . . . Not again . . ." she whispered, her mind involuntarily traveling back to the night her life had fallen apart for what felt like the umpteenth time. Swiftly forcing herself to move on from it, Wilhelmina reopened her chocolate gems and sadly looked down upon Gabriel's corpse.

". . . Don't worry, Gabriel . . . I will try my best to keep your little girl as safe as I can . . ." she promised softly, placing his blood-stained hands onto his chest, before rising to her feet yet again.

Moving back to the awaiting Esmé, Wilhelmina was surprised that, despite having been _told_ to wait, Esmé had actually _done_ so. However, when Wilhelmina had gotten close enough, she saw why.

The hapless little one had fallen back asleep.

_No **wonder** she didn't come over to us . . . Poor thing . . . _she thought in sympathy.

"You're better _off_, I suppose . . . You've been through enough . . . Come on . . . Let's . . . get out of here . . ." said Wilhelmina, bending over to pick up the slumbering, newfound orphan and carried her out of the cavern.

**-- End of Chapter Four  
**

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**(A.N. There it is. Happy, now? No? Ohhhhhhhhhh, well. LoL I'm sooooooo freaking tired!! Spent a good portion of the afternoon until now, editing the crap out of it, throwing off my sleeping schedule. But I had to get it out now cuz I'm busy later this week. See the sacrifices I make you kiddies? LoL So yeah. If I missed crap, sue me. Anyway, I like this chapter, kinda. It's nice, depressing, and gory, just the way I like 'em. LoL Fairly, decent amount of words, 4,500+, a.k.a. 8 pages, the usual minimum for me for chapters I produce. I didn't want to move past this "scene" in this chapter, as the whole death and first demon fight, blah blah, was the main plot of it, etc. And yeah. I know: "Where's Sitara, damn it?" Relax. LoL Sita's lying in a gutter somewhere. I kiiiiiiid. LoL No, she's sipping on a Piña Colada in the Bahamas. LoL Seriously, though? Just have faith and patience in me, k? I'm progressing with this story at the pace – negating posting frequency LoL – I wanted to, so I'M happy, at least. And I know you also have a billion other questions of what went down, mainly the fight scene or whatever, but guess what? Stay tuned for more updates! LoL)**


	6. Chapter Five: Terror Primeval

**Chapter Five: "Terror Primeval"**

**By: Sokai**

**Disclaimer: **I, Sokai, do not claim ownership to the workings of W.I.T.C.H. -- I leave _that_ honor up to Elisabetta Gnone. However, I can and DO claim to own this story and its inspired ideas FROM said series, as well as the original character, Sitara Vandom.

Note: _Well, I guess all of your votes in my profile for which story to update had paid off, because here it is, finally. LoL Sorry for the, well, three-year delay (hard to believe, I know LoL Neat, though, that my last update had been on my kitten, Ollie's birthday . . . well, one year before it actually became his birthday at all, anyways LoL), but this particular story has been beating my ass. LoL That is, because it is SO different and unlike the other stories I've written, I've been wanting to take extra time to make sure everything I craft/feature in here is exactly as I want it to me . . . and wouldn't you know that it'd take ages for me to finally settle upon this one of the millions of other drafts I'd made for chapter five? LoL_

_Ah, well! At least it's finally back, so now all those who've been/are loyal fans to this can rest easy, and read this chapter that's very . . . well, you'll see. HeHe _

_--  
_

**WARNING**** :** PLEASE READ THIS STORY AT YOUR **OWN** RISK, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE EXTREMELY RELIGIOUS. WHILE I AM **NOT TRYING TO BE DISRESPECTFUL OR SACRILEGIOUS**, I MAY STILL END UP DOING SO FOR SOME OF YOU -- HENCE, THE WARNING, UNDERSTANDING, AND APOLOGY IN ADVANCE.

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This chapter was created/written in July 2008, and in February 2009.

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_"Scatter thou the people that delight in war." __**-- Psalm 68:30**_

"_They encourage themselves in an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily; they say, 'Who shall see them?''"__** -- Psalm 64:5**_

_**

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**_

Wilhelmina had been traveling, ever since having forcibly abandoned the underground, _unforgiving_ city of Barinak with Esmé, for what honestly felt like eons. Too fearful to stop for very long, she hadn't been able to accumulate much rest nor sleep.

And with her body so previously ragged and exhausted, it was all the young, freshly revived woman could do to maintain consciousness and not simply collapse within defeat.

It was all still a bit too surreal for Wilhelmina, and far too much to even begin to process. In one instant, she had been preparing herself to begin living her life anew, such as it was, within the former, and now suddenly new, _bleak_ world the Oracle had foreseen arriving and had been so "courteous" as to allow her be a part of.

And then, within the next instant, she was thrust into such an inexplicable battle, with the most ferocious beast she had ever faced, and inheriting a child within the process. . . .

_Esmé._

The poor little girl had lost the only family she had left, her _father_, and there was nothing Wilhelmina could have done to have changed that, even if she had wanted to . . . and oh, how she honestly wished that she could.

As detached as she had become to the overall world, Wilhelmina still found her heart, what was left of it, inexplicably reaching out a tad to the tiny seven-year-old. Her _mind_, however, was quick to reason that it was simply due to the fact that no one so young and helpless should ever have to endure what Esmé would now have to face for the rest of her life . . . for however long that now may be.

Nothing and no one could have, _should_ have survived the wrath of that . . . that _demon_ that had so effortlessly torn apart and devoured many of the inhabitants who had not been fortunate enough to escape into the deeper levels of Barinak alongside the rest of the villagers.

And yet, by some miracle, or _curse_, even, Wilhelmina had managed to not only do so, but had also slain the foul, unholy creature with the most profound strength she had ever been known to possess.

Not even her former powers as a Guardian of the Veil had ever granted her such vigor, which originally had taken her quite some time to have gotten used to.

And now, there she was, suddenly imbued with a newfound might that admittedly left her feeling perplexed, although quite formidable indeed.

_Is it permanent, though? Because I no longer feel as though I possess the strength of fifty men right now; I can barely continue to carry Esmé, let alone my own self_, pondered Wilhelmina, letting out a tremendous huff in crippling fatigue, as she clasped the slumbering child firmly within her arms while continuing on within her weary trek towards the unknown. _And, moreover, how had it happened, anyhow? Had that alarming power come from the Heart of Candracar, or from something else? Do I even __want__ to have it?_

So many valid questions continued flooding into the redhead's troubled mind, causing greater stress and anxiety upon her overall composition, as each remained unsettlingly unanswered. While it would be something she would have no other choice but to look into further, it would have to be left until a future date, as figuring out where to go next and how to survive while getting there was Wilhelmina's main priority at that very moment.

Where _was_ she meant to go, and how would she honestly manage it?

She did not know the first thing about this chaotic world, its terrain, or precisely how many demons and other pernicious denizens which lurked about existed overall. And what would she do for shelter and food? Because she was older, it would be possible for Wilhelmina to survive without any sort of sustenance for at least a week or so, despite having only recently been revitalized.

_Esmé_, on the other hand, with her tiny, fragile physique, would not be able to last for very long, perhaps a few days at best. And with her currently within her post-shock, continual coma of sorts, it was almost certain that she would perish _far_ sooner.

"But . . . h-how am I . . . how a-am I supposed to find _anything_ to eat out . . . here? Gabriel had made it seem next to . . . _impossible_, from the way he'd . . . described when having offered me some of his food," softly remarked Wilhelmina to herself in between tired gasps for air, finding it harder to breathe nor see, as the surrounding atmosphere became more and more stagnant the further she journeyed.

Stealing a quick glance down at Esmé, she felt her heart wince slightly at the sight, as the petite, helpless girl appeared to be more so dead than merely unconscious.

_At this rate, I don't think __either__ of us will make it past sunset -- Whenever that may be, if at all_, the cardinal haired young woman reflected silently, taking note of the sun's blatant absence from the perpetually dark, slightly crimson tinted sky.

Both arms and legs beginning to cramp up and become numb, Wilhelmina gave a quick but gentle, awkward shift of Esmé's slumbering frame within her arms, before looking about her immediate surroundings. Although they both were in need of some nourishment, what was a true necessity at that given moment was rest.

But without any form of shelter, the two would be sitting ducks for any sort of demon that may happen to come upon them.

_It's a wonder that hasn't happened already, God forbid_, thought Wilhelmina, turning every which way within her spot in her continued search for any place to hide. _What am I saying, though? There __is__ no God, not anymore, if He could have allowed such a thing as all of __this__ to have happened. . . ._

". . . . But I bet _you're_ getting a kick out of this, aren't you? Watching me, being _stranded_ out here and wallowing within this _Hell on Earth_," said Wilhelmina with profound bitterness riddled within her voice, as she gazed up towards the fiery opaque sky, feeling her heart beginning to ice over once again as she momentarily reflected upon the betrayal of the Oracle against she and the rest of the fallen Guardians of the Veil. "Is it within your overall plan and design to have this innocent child die, as well?? She's suffered enough as it is, just as _I_ have! Just as you've _made_ me! Why not show her what little compassion you may have within you and _help_ her??"

Although she truly did not expect any sort of direct response, Wilhelmina nonetheless stood still, remaining within her spot expectantly, as well as defiantly, while continuing to peer up into the dismal heavens for any sign of change. All that she was met with was the continued, deathly silence of the earthly void, causing her to gingerly collapse onto the ground within a defeated heap.

Careful not bruise nor injure Esmé in any way, Wilhelmina gently set her down upon the mostly barren earth, before curling up next to her. What felt like an invisible, crushing veil of despair and hopelessness immediately descended upon the young gentlewoman, effortlessly enveloping her, as she continued to simply lay there and awaited what was to be her most assured end this time.

". . . . I-I'm sorry, Gabriel . . . but it looks like I won't be able to protect your daughter, after all," she whispered hoarsely, softly stroking the departed man's only child upon her sandy blonde head, before slowly closing her eyes. "But . . . at least you will all be reunited, as a family, very soon . . . I won't be as lucky, not in that way, at least. . . . I'm sorry, sis. . . ."

A few warm, stray teardrops then gently began to freely careen down Wilhelmina's dirtied, tawny countenance at that moment and she let them, as her heart reached out and ached for the other half of herself, while her mind found momentary peace as she allowed herself to at last succumb to her riddled weariness. . . .

* * *

"_. . . Kill me . . ."_

"_What__? __No__!"_

"_Will . . . you said that you wanted to 'save me. . . . ' __Killing__ me is the only way -- I realize that now. . . ."_

"_No__! I said that I would __save__ you, as in __help__ you!"_

"_If you kill me, you __will__ help. . . . I'm dying __anyway__, sis. . . . I don't know you __either__, Will, but it's plain to see that you're my better half . . . and I am __very __honored to be your sister. . . . Your __twin__ sister. . . ."_

_A pale and haggard, yet beautifully familiar face gazed upon Wilhelmina with a pleading expression within the surrounding darkness, although their eyes, __her__ eyes were ironically peaceful. A cold, but gentle hand warmly caressed her cheek and lightly smiled, and Wilhelmina could hear the one who looked so desperately like her whisper into the darkening atmosphere, as she began to vanish from view:_

"_. . . . Set me __free.__ . . ."_

"_No!!_ Don't leave me again!!" cried Wilhelmina with fierce abandon, peering into the dimly lit atmosphere, as she'd abruptly awakened from the habitual dream, or _memory_, that was all too familiar to her over the years. Her insides ached mercilessly, as her mind immediately began to do its best to block out the pain continually dwelling upon her very last moments with her sister always awarded her each and every time.

It was simply too much to bear.

_I can't keep thinking about the past like this, any longer . . . I have to be strong, now, more than ever, and keep going on so that I can find her. . . . I __have__ to_, she thought tiredly, building up a small, but renewed resolve not to give into desolation and to instead continue on fighting for her own survival, in addition to little Esmé's_. I __won't__ give the Oracle any further satisfaction than he already has had at my expense. . . ._

Wilhelmina briefly then began to marvel at how she was even still alive at all, given that she had allowed herself to lose consciousness out within the open, where both she and the young child within her custody could have easily been killed or eaten by any number of coarse beasts.

_Maybe this means that my luck is finally changing_, she silently surmised, although with no real optimism, as she closed her worn out, brown colored eyes for a moment. _Either way, I'm going to try to use it to my advantage_.

"Es . . . Esmé . . . we're going to make it . . . I promise," avowed Wilhelmina gently and blindly to her right, where the tiny girl lay, presumably still unconscious. Although she still felt a bit drained of energy, feeling as though her momentary rest had done nothing to rejuvenate her body, the redhead forced herself to sit up and reach out towards Gabriel's daughter.

Or, at least, that had been her every intention, as she strangely found that she could not even feel her body, let alone move it. Panic began to set in just then, the undeniable, overpowering scent of rotting flesh replacing the stale air from earlier and suddenly battering against her nostrils, as the rest of her overall senses at last began to reawaken, themselves.

Something was horribly, _horribly_ wrong.

As Wilhelmina frantically tried to move her limbs, simultaneously racking her brain for what could have brought on her mysterious paralysis, abrupt shuffling and scraping eerily began to sound from behind her, as hushed, grated voices murmured to one another.

". . . . A . . . wake. . . . A . . . _wake!!_" grunted the first, unknown party, male sounding at best, as there was a low, gurgling and rumbling-like bass to it, that sent palpitating quivers throughout Wilhelmina's core to listen to through the slight darkness.

It was strange, almost a bit foolish to think, however, that the presumable male individual almost sounded a bit . . . savage-like, as though hailing from a prehistoric era of some sort.

_But that's impossible, though, since everyone who may have survived the end of the old world had originated from it . . . I'm assuming_, silently reflected the incapacitated redhead, while she continued to attempt to will herself to move again in order to face the newcomers, or perhaps even flee if necessary. _Regardless of where they are or __were__ from, I have to make myself move again and fast, so I can get Esm_é_ out of here. . . ._

". . . . T-Tell . . . queen. . . ." slurred the other voice, this one sounding a bit more female, although just as barbaric as her companion. Wilhelmina could then hear what sounded like a heavy curtain or flap of some sort being lifted, and excited footsteps scurrying away from the immediate vicinity, causing her to breathe a heavy sigh of relief.

However, the reprieve was short lived, as a sudden light, most likely from torch fire, effortlessly illuminated the area in which Wilhelmina lay, helpless, and made her feel instant regret. For above, next to and all around her were what looked like distinct and various body parts, decaying and put on display as though with pride or like an honorable trophy.

Her breathing becoming much more labored, heart pounding furiously behind her breastplate, Wilhelmina quickly squeezed her eyes shut from the sight. This was nothing as it had been like while traveling within the underground passageways of Barinak with Gabriel, when the two had come upon the carnage that that particular demon had left within its wake.

For, as vile and gut-wrenching as that truly had been to have witnessed, it had also been something Wilhelmina could have at least _fled_ from, if not fought against as she ultimately had.

_This_ instance, however, while only slightly less ghastly by comparison, was far more _dangerous_, as she still was unable to become mobile again, and thus ultimately unable to defend herself against whatever may come next. . . .

Although greatly terrified by that point, Wilhelmina forced herself to reopen her eyes, as her mind suddenly remembered something very important:

_Esm__é__._

She was nowhere to be seen, making the older woman's blood run cold as a result. Where had they taken her? _Had_ they even taken her when they had so obviously spirited Wilhelmina away to their contemptible dwellings? And, if they had, did they plan on doing to the two of them what they'd apparently done to the various individuals splayed about her surroundings?

She didn't plan on sticking around long enough to find out.

With every ounce of strength of will she held within her, Wilhelmina desperately tried one last time to sit up, thinking only of Esmé's current state and well being as proper motivation. She let out a soft gasp in surprise, as she could then thankfully begin to feel tingles coursing throughout her body, signaling to her that whatever had caused her paralysis was at last starting to wear off.

"I'm . . . coming, Esmé . . . hold on. . . ." groaned the erstwhile Guardian, tilting her head slightly, while beginning to gently rock back and forth in order to roll onto her side. It was then that she realized, much to her immense horror, that she was naked. However, more than that, that she was covered, from head to toe, with a mysterious, mud colored goo. . . .

Feelings of great fury swiftly began to take the place of the trepidation that Wilhelmina had been experiencing up until that very moment, her stomach knotting up inside as thoughts of having possibly been violated by the two archaic and uncivilized beings while she had been unconscious flew into her mind.

If she'd managed to make it out of this alive, she would make certain somehow that they would both pay dearly for it. . . .

As though acting as a driving force for her weakened constitution, the ire careening inside of Wilhelmina seemed to grant her enough strength to succeed in tentatively sitting up, her entire body once again active, although not by much.

Smiling faintly in triumph and wishing not to waste yet another moment, lest her captors both returned, Wilhelmina shakily rose to her feet, no longer feeling as abashed as before to be bare.

There were far more pressing matters to attend to than the feelings of self-consciousness.

Giving a fleeting glance about her immediate surroundings, seeing beyond the continued decay to at last notice she was inside what appeared to be an adobe-like sort of hut, Wilhelmina turned towards the exit while simultaneously looking for a weapon of some sort to safeguard herself.

It was then that she felt a pair of strong, clammy hands seize both of her shoulders quite suddenly, as her molasses hued eyes widened in alarm once they'd come face to face with perhaps the man who had spoken earlier. . . .

Only, he did not resemble any sort of man Wilhelmina had ever come across while in Barinak, nor overall, for that matter. With hair long, dark and matted down with what looked like dirt and soil, his equally dirtied, pale face was partially obscured as a result; however, Wilhelmina could still regrettably lock eyes with the hauntingly hollow, sunken gray eyes that peered wildly back at her . . . almost with a chilling-like hunger.

The sharp, unmistakable odor of feces began to attack the redhead's nostrils, intermingling with the continual putrid aroma of the rotting flesh all around her, as she then realized that that was _not_ soil covering the man's face, hair, and rest of his mostly bare body. . . .

"Wh . . . where am I? What d-do you _want_ with me??" demanded Wilhelmina breathlessly, managing to muster enough courage, more so to continue inhaling, than to face the obviously unhinged man before her. Her eyes widened in apprehension as she watched him begin to sneer, drool trickling down his dirtied lips, while his horrendously stained teeth flashed menacingly towards her.

"Now, is that any way to talk to your savior?"

Abruptly looking over the intimidating male's soiled shoulder, wincing from the increased pressure he suddenly placed upon her arms, Wilhelmina narrowed her eyes as she gazed upon the owner of the new voice, female, walk into the hut.

Immediate surprise rippled throughout the redhead, as the woman, appearing to be perhaps within her early to mid-thirties, did not at all resemble her obvious male companion, nor spoke like him. Pitch black hair pulled back into a tight, clean bun, her ice blue eyes, although unnerving to behold, were not as bleak as that of the brute-like man.

Nor was her body tainted with indescribable coverings, as nothing but various pieces of dark colored, thick cloth adorned her slender appearance to fashion into a makeshift sort of gown. Wilhelmina momentarily allowed her gaze to linger upon the woman's face, ghostly white in nature, which had curious, black tinted markings trailing underneath her eyes.

She wondered what they meant. . . .

"I see you find my . . . 'tattoos,' if you will, so fascinating. I thank you," said the older woman, as though having read Wilhelmina's thoughts, smiling softly at her as she moved closer. "Demon's blood, if you must know. Shows superiority amongst my people -- Among other things -- which is why I am referred to as their _queen_. . . ."

Lightly shaking her head subconsciously in wary disbelief, the scowl upon Wilhelmina's face deepened.

". . . . What are you saying? That you people have actually been able to _kill_ those things all on your own??" she roughly inquired, as she lightly struggled against the vicious-looking man's hardened grasp, coughing deeply in order to expel the great stench continually circulating throughout the area. She silently wondered how this woman, who appeared so normal by comparison, could apparently associate herself with such a louse, let alone withstand the foul smell emitting off of him. "I've gone up against one of them, myself, head on, and it was no easy task. . . ."

The woman seemed quite pleased by this, as her steady blue eyes briefly flickered with intrigue. She waved a slender hand into the air towards the male before both she and Wilhelmina, evidently signaling for him to release the younger girl, as he'd done precisely that.

". . . . So . . . you, too, have chosen to rise up against the poverty of this new world and fight back against those abominable beasts, then? I'd thought there was something . . . _different_ about you. I am honored to have you visit our humble, although prosperous kingdom of Belial. I am Queen Reina," said the dark haired woman, watching in amusement while Wilhelmina rubbed vigorously at her recently released, now sore arms.

Wilhelmina then slowly began to blush, as her mind once again focused upon the very blatant fact that she was still naked, and immediately draped one arm over her breasts, while the other craftily concealed her nether region.

"If I'm such the 'honored guest,' then why rob me of my clothing, cover me in this . . . congealing _mess_, and dump me within this God-forsaken place after having apparently paralyzed me temporarily??" hissed the crimson locked female, lightly raising her hand to cover her nose while keeping her arm against her chest. "And where is Esmé?? Where have you put her?? If you've hurt her in _any_ way, I'll --"

"-- Oh, is _that_ the name of the child? She is quite all right, or _will_ be, at least, as she's developed quite the fever," revealed Queen Reina with an air of disinterest, although a growing smile spread across her pale countenance. "You see, I used to be a doctor within the old world, and so am . . . pretty familiar with the human body and proper remedies, medical or natural. I have directed some of my subjects to take the proper measures to break the girl's fever, just as I have instructed a few others to . . . care for _you_. I _am_ curious, though, as to where you and daughter were headed before Jirair, here, and his other hunting companions had come upon you. Mind sharing?"

Wilhelmina said nothing, merely peering back at the older woman within a daring manner. Something did not feel right about this situation, even without the horrifying scenery to amplify the notion. This woman, this supposed queen, seemed to be hiding something, as though aware of an amusing little anecdote that she, and perhaps her cohort, were the only ones privy to.

Whatever it was, Wilhelmina was determined to find out, however, without riling up Reina nor this Jirair too much before she was able to get to Esmé.

Sensing the girl's growing misgivings, Queen Reina then directed her attention to the sullied male, simply giving him a silent, although dominating look, before he swiftly left the hut. After which, she flashed Wilhelmina an eerie, stiff smile that most likely intended to be kind and relaxing in nature, as she slowly folded her arms across her ample chest.

"Apparently having saved both your lives from most assured demise is not enough to gain your trust. Perhaps working tirelessly to cure your little girl's ailment should do? Or would you prefer I tell my subjects to leave her be?" queried Queen Reina with an icy undertone within her otherwise calm demeanor. She slowly raised a dark eyebrow in curiosity as Wilhelmina suddenly smiled gently, her overall disposition visibly relaxing.

"N-No . . . no, _thank_ you . . . Your Majesty. For rescuing and tending to us. . . . I just . . . I would simply prefer to see her for myself, so that I could know that she really _is_ all right," she said, giving a slight shiver, as she felt a small chill caress her unsheltered back. She concentrated only upon maintaining her composure, and playing into the best interests of this other woman while placating her for show. ". . . . May I see her? And . . . could you tell me why you have . . . um, that is --"

"-- Why is this hut so filled with decomposing corpses? Or why dear Jirair appears the way that he does? _Or_, perhaps you are intrigued to know of why I am revered as queen to he and every other inhabitant of my fair kingdom? Normally, I do not bother to entertain our past guests or honor them with such information . . . but, for you, I do believe an exception can be made," remarked the queen of Belial, blue eyes suddenly becoming alight.

When she saw no objection of any kind coming from the redhead before her, she softly cleared her throat before continuing on. "As already stated, I used to be a doctor within the former world. I do not truthfully recall every last detail to my old life, it having been ages ago, it feels like . . . but I do remember that I had never been completely happy during that time, either.

Never been married, no children of my own, and member to a _very_ dysfunctional family I had willingly estranged myself from, I only had the long hours required of my occupation to look forward to. . . . And then, suddenly, I was thrust into _this_ world within the blink of an eye, and stranded within the middle of nowhere after having managed to survive. . . .

II suppose you are wondering how I could freely associate myself with such . . . Neanderthal-like individuals as Jirair. The answer is quite simple, in fact: They needed order and guidance, and _I_ needed shelter and protection from those damned _demons_. I had been stumbling around out there without anyone, so when I had happened upon Jirair and the others, I'd immediately set upon incorporating myself into the little establishment they had going."

Queen Reina paused for a moment, evidently wishing for all that she had revealed thus far to be properly digested by Wilhelmina, before she would continue. Whether she had or not, however, did not deter the raven haired woman to press on.

". . . . They were not always as you see, of course. I may not still know, nor understand much about the world in which we are now forced to live; however, it seems as though that not everyone -- Those who have survived, that is -- is as mentally . . . _fortified_, if you will, to handle it," she remarked, turning her back to the redhead, as she took a step towards the hut's dual entrance and exit. "Granted, this is merely pure hypothesis, of course. At any rate, over time, the despair of their collected, _pitiful_ fate and desire to survive by any means necessary had overwhelmed any trace of civilized humanity within them, resulting within a primitive-like regression . . . to what you see now.

Anything that they might have recalled before of their old lives -- Family, friends, and, of course, basic functions and proper speech of _cultured_ humans -- is now gone. And, as for _myself_, what can I say? I suppose _my_ core will had been the strongest of them all, as I, _clearly_, am not like the rest . . . which is why it had been all too easy to become their leader, their _queen_. . . ."

"So then . . . why all of . . . _this_, if all you are doing is simply looking after your people?" Wilhelmina chanced to inquire, heart increasing in pace, as she suddenly felt a distinct shift within the atmosphere, causing her to feel great unease once more.

Queen Reina turned back around at this, her icy blue eyes seeming to eerily darken, as another, chilling simper appeared against her fair visage.

"Which would you prefer: to live in perpetual _terror_, constantly running for your life, while simultaneously _losing_ it due to the ever-present low food supply; _or_, rise above it all by learning to _adapt_ . . . to fight _back?_" she posed a rhetorical question to a now silent Wilhelmina, who watched with caution as Queen Reina took a step closer toward her. "As I'd said, my people needed guidance and initiative, _especially_ once their former rational minds had ceased to be. And having been so used to granting order and direction to a hospital and staff that could sometimes become chaotic, what better person than I? I'd convinced them not to be afraid and so helpless . . . that while fierce, numerous and intimidating by nature, these _demons_ were _still_ beneath us within the evolutionary chain, _despite_ their apparent inheritance of this now _useless_ planet. . . ."

Queen Reina's formerly calm demeanor suddenly changed into one of tautness, her facial expression contorted into one of psychotic delusion that made Wilhelmina promptly wish once more that she were anywhere else but there at that very moment.

"Under my rule, we have built these homes, out within the open and refusing to hide, using our bare hands and resourcefulness. . . . I have taught them to fashion weapons, initially, out of splinted rocks to create spears, tomahawks, and other useful tools to help with our hunting of demons -- The smaller ones, mostly, as anything larger may result within a casualty of two . . . although, we have ways of handling such occurrences," the onyx locked woman hauntingly whispered with a wicked grin, raising a hand to calmly run across her head, smoothing down her pulled back hair. "Over time, we have found that less and less demons frequent our vicinity, which meant less food and weapons to harvest -- That's what we do with the beasts we hunt and kill, by the way, did I mention? We eat their flesh as our meat, drink their blood for our liquid nourishment, and then use their bones to graft onto the tools we already possess, or to create daggers from. . . . It's an acquired taste, however, but, as I'd said . . . we're _very_ resourceful, and we do what we must to survive . . . ."

". . . . S-So . . . that's what all of these remains are, then? Just . . . demon bones and flesh?" Wilhelmina ventured to guess, intently watching the queen's every move, as she then turned back around and away from her. Although her mind desperately hoped it to be true, her heart knew otherwise.

These remains adorning the entire hut could _not_ have been anything else _but_ human . . . which meant. . . .

"It is almost ironic, when I think of it, how this new world, as isolated and deplorable as it truly is overall, has awarded me with more freedom, pleasure and happiness than I had _ever_ received within the _former_," murmured Queen Reina darkly, a small chuckle escaping past her lips, while Wilhelmina, meanwhile, began to back away from her as she split her attention between focusing upon the queen, and renewing her search for a weapon of some sort to shield her against the blatant insanity of this woman and her subjects. "I would have never been able to get away with _half_ of the things I have done . . . what I have instructed my people to do. Tell me something, girl: If there are no longer many demons to have crossed our path, what, then, shall we be left to feast upon? I'll _tell_ you. . . . There have been others, much like yourself and your child, to become stranded or lost out there within the endless abyss. And most of whom have found their way _here_, where I openly greet them, alone, so as not to raise suspicion -- Well, how _else_ could I get their guard down long enough, if I had someone like _Jirair_ or the other members of my kingdom do so, instead, looking the way that they now do?

No, no. It always has to be _me_ -- That is, if they're even _conscious _after they've stumbled into our midst. . . . _If_ they are, I play the welcoming, _relieved_ role to have come across another human soul, pleading with them to stay, and help me rebuild society. And of course, they are each always all too _happy_ to oblige, simply thanking their lucky stars that they will no longer have to be alone and wander defenselessly.

_Ha!_ It still never ceases to amaze me how they've each never stopped to question and wonder how I, _myself_, could have managed to survive all out within the open like this! Ours is not to wonder why, I suppose. . . . After which, the rest is quite simple: I lure them into this very hut, where they at last begin to realize something is terribly, _terribly_ askew -- Of course, by then, it is _far_ too late to do anything about it . . . just as it far too late for _you_ to do anything about it, as well, my pet. . . . _Jirair!_"

Before Wilhelmina even had any time to react, she was effortlessly ambushed once again by the one referred to as Jirair, in addition to four other individuals, both male and female and resembling their companion in appearance, who had reentered the hut alongside him. She let out a terrified, frustrated scream as she struggled with all of her might against the large savage, brown eyes widened to their limit within the deepest fright she had ever previously known.

This couldn't be happening. This was not at _all_ real.

Of all the new horrors Wilhelmina expected to face within this world's rebirth, the evidently brutal fact that every last one of these people were . . . were _cannibals_ was the farthest from her mind. She had always sensed that something was greatly amiss with the denizens of Belial, of course; however, she had merely proposed that perhaps they had either possessed a few enemies, or had a policy against unwanted trespassers, which resulted within the swift demise of those littered about the immediate area.

At least, it was what her mind had constantly forced itself to rationalize, in order to keep her greatly scattered wits about her. _Now_, however, faced with the undeniable truth and with apparent death looking her straight within the eye yet again, Wilhelmina wondered, with extreme terror, how she would ever make it out of _this_, or, if she even _could_.

"Y-You're _cannibals??_ Y-You people are _insane!!_ _Everything_ that you've apparently done is pure insanity!! How could --!" began Wilhelmina with a frazzled cry, before being abruptly cut off by the sharp, stinging slap of Queen Reina's hand to her face, as she instantly whirled around within her place to stare the younger woman down.

"Do not presume to understand the ways of my people, _girl!_ This is the restart of the world, where only the _strong_ shall survive!! 'Survival of the fittest,' or do you not remember your science classes back in school??" bellowed the queen within a taunting air, leaning forward to cup Wilhelmina's reddening visage and vigorously brush strands of her flaming red locks away from it.

Her blue eyes reflected nothing else but pure evil, hatred, and psychosis, making Wilhelmina shiver uncontrollably as a result, as they instantly reminded her of her twin sister's on the night of her death. . . .

This woman, much like her sibling had been, was most definitely not a force to be reckoned with.

"It is nothing personal, you should know and be able to take with you into the afterlife -- If it even _exists_ -- once all of this is over. You and the little girl were simply within the wrong place, at the _right_ time, when my subjects had found you . . . our next _meal_," said Queen Reina with a snicker, affectionately stroking the cheek of Wilhelmina's which she had struck. "Of course, you've only made it harder on yourself now, having woken up and overcome the induced paralysis I'd placed upon you -- Venom from a type of demon which used to roam these parts and we've managed to stock up upon. Temporary, yet _highly_ effective in ensuring that your victim, your _prey_, will not be able to run _nor_ struggle while we . . . _'season'_ them.

Which is what, I will let you in on, you happen to be covered in, by the bye. We've found that it gives the flesh a much softer, _tantalizing_ texture and flavor. . . . Who knew that as a former doctor, I would ever get to know the human body in such a more . . . _intimate_ capacity, hmm?"

Pulling away from her mortified captive, Queen Reina suddenly snapped her fingers and made a gesture for the hut's exit, and Jirair and his primitive comrades immediately began dragging an endlessly resisting Wilhelmina outside.

"_N-No!!_ You _can't_ do this!! _Please!!_ Just let me and Esmé go free, and we'll _never_ bother you _nor_ your people again!!" the redhead tried desperately to bargain amidst her struggling, feeling both time and her remaining options quickly running out.

Queen Reina cackled boisterously at this, as she continued to find great relish within the younger woman's ample fear and desire to survive.

"Oh, _ho!_ You are not the first to try something like that on me, and I'm pretty certain you won't be the _last!_ Still, you should take _comfort!_ Because you are about to be reunited with your daughter at this very moment. . . . At least you shall be awake, after all, to witness her last moments on this pained earth, as we roast her first as our appetizer. . . ." she declared within a girlish-like exuberance, high above Wilhelmina's continued screams for freedom.

Queen Reina watched within immense delight and growing hunger, as her loyal subjects carded the bare, young gentlewoman outside, back into the stale, but otherwise much more refreshing air, where other, multiple huts erected themselves within a tight, protective circle.

Within the very center was a firepit, with a makeshift rotisserie perched over it . . . and, lying on the ground next to it, slumbering and just as naked as Wilhelmina, was Esmé. . . .

"_Esm__é__!!_ No! Don't do this, you _bastards!!_" screeched the redhead, while writhing within her attackers' arms, the dread she'd previously felt beginning to subside, as the former anger she had experienced earlier began to take its place. She silently thanked goodness that Esmé was at least still unconscious during yet another traumatizing event, or else she would most assuredly _never_ recover from the ordeal . . . if they'd managed to somehow make it out of it alive.

Wilhelmina had to do something, _anything_, and _fast_, or else she would be forced to watch the miniscule, helpless girl be burned alive, all for the sake of the so called kingdom of Belial's perverse, idealistic views. While being mercilessly carried over to the firepit, she immediately began to pool all of her energy and concentration upon how she had felt during her frightful confrontation with the spike-tailed demon back within Barinak.

Perhaps if Wilhelmina willed it hard enough, she might somehow be able to trigger the same sort of fortification she had experienced at the time, provided it was _not_ truly a onetime phenomenon.

_All I remember was feeling supremely terrified, and desperately wishing for the Heart of Candracar to come forth to grant me strength . . . and then. . . ._ thought the disadvantaged Keeper within a frenzied nature, squeezing her eyes shut. It was then that she suddenly, as well as miraculously began to feel the very same, sweltering sensation of the Heart of Candracar pulsating wildly throughout her entire being, her body invigorating itself with the mirrored vitality from before. . . .

"What is the meaning of this?? What's _happening??_" Wilhelmina could hear Queen Reina abruptly cry out from behind her, voice riddled with distinct panic for the very first time. Quickly opening her eyes, Wilhelmina saw that Jirair and his companions, although still holding onto her, had stopped moving, as everyone began to gaze upon her curiously illuminating body.

"D-Demon! _Demon!!_ Look how her form grows _black_ with its _sinister_ aura!! _Destroy_ her!!" screeched Queen Reina fanatically and eyes widened beyond its limit, waving her finger indiscriminately towards the redhead.

Wilhelmina, her head slightly bowed, concealed a soft smile, as she knew what was about to come.

_. . . . I'll show you who the true 'demon' __really__ is, you bitch_, she thought fleetingly, before she suddenly felt her body being overwhelmed by the numerous weight of Queen Reina's subjects, who had then begun to pile on top of her, in attempts to further restrain her.

Without much thought nor effort, Wilhelmina merely gave a small grunt, before stretching out all of her limbs in every which direction, causing every last aggressor to go flying into the air and off of her. Giving a quick glance towards Esmé, who remained perfectly still where she laid, Wilhelmina then braced herself for the furious onslaught heading her way.

Taking a defensive stance, Wilhelmina immediately swung her right arm, with full force, towards the first Neanderthal-like man to come rushing towards her, punching a startling, _sickening_ hole straight through his face, instantly killing him.

Although it was quite the devastating sight to behold, on did Wilhelmina continue to fight back, not wishing to give a moment's rest until both she and Esmé were once again safe.

The collective paused for a moment after witnessing such immeasurable strength and befalling of one of their own, unsure of whether or not to continue. Seeing this, Queen Reina, who slyly began to back away, cried out to her minions, doling out further orders.

"Don't just _stand_ there, you fools!! _Kill_ her!! Kill her until there is nothing left for her daughter to mourn!!" she screamed with maniacal trepidation, frantically pulling at her raven colored hair and causing it to become as disheveled as her miniscule sanity.

With an automatic, unanimous roar, Queen Reina's unsuspecting sheep resumed their charge, head on, to the awaiting slaughter. Sensing someone approaching from behind, Wilhelmina gave a swift, blind kick backwards, straight into the abdomen of one of the boorish-like women, and succeeded in knocking both the air as well as life out of her.

Two individuals then flew at the redhead simultaneously, in an effort to better subdue her, to which Wilhelmina merely seized each of their arms, before roughly colliding their bodies into one another and causing a fatal blow to both of their heads.

Suddenly, Wilhelmina felt one of cavemen-like persons jump onto her bare back, latching onto her for dear life with attempts to suffocate her. However, with a heavy grunt, she sharply struck his face with the back of her head, before gripping onto his shoulder and hurling him off of and in front of her.

The man gave a frightened, painful shriek, before having his neck severely snapped by a stoic Wilhelmina, who momentarily crouched behind him, before rising to stand face to face with the sole individual left alive.

Jirair.

Standing head to head, the vicious man let out a menacing, embittered snarl as he tightly clenched his fists, while watching as the slayer of his people lightly gave a quick flick of her fingers to shake away some of her victims' blood.

With a swift lunge, Jirair dove towards Wilhelmina, managing to topple her over as he then straddled her, wasting no time in delivering several hard blows to her face. Her own blood trickling from out of her lip and upper brow, Wilhelmina moaned in pain as she promptly reached up to try to gauge out the assailant's eyes. However, she instantly regretted it as he, perhaps the most ferocious of his Belial brethren, managed to evade her attack before fiercely sinking his jagged teeth into her arm and began attempting to devour her alive.

With an ear piercing screech, both in excruciating pain as well as aggravation, the fortified redhead summoned every ounce of strength still left within her, as she ruthlessly plunged her good arm straight through Jirair's chest and heart, killing him.

His sunken eyes now widened in great surprise and affliction, they remained upon Wilhelmina, as his jaw slowly became slack and released its firm hold upon her appendage. A fair amount of Jirair's blood spilled out onto the young woman's naked chest, nearly matching the same shade of her hair as it then began intermingling with it.

The overall battle, which had been monumentally one-sided, had only lasted no more than a few minutes in retrospect, however the damage was palpable, as Wilhelmina had nonetheless managed to decimate every last resident of Belial . . . all except for one.

Heaving a heavy sigh within a mixture of physical suffering, as well as relief that it was all over, Wilhelmina roughly pushed Jirair's deceased body off of her, before gingerly rising to her feet. Her reddish brown eyes rested upon the momentarily forgotten, slumbering Esmé, and suddenly she felt as though she were coming from out of a daze, as the strength that had swelled inside of her abruptly dissipated and the darkened aura surrounding her subsided.

_. . . . I guess I can only tap into that sort of power when it's __really__ dicey,_ hypothesized Wilhelmina silently for a moment, before carefully picking up the tiny child, and cradled her bare form against her own in spite of the continually pulsating pain to her bitten arm.

". . . . Let's g-get you out of here," she murmured to the sleeping girl breathlessly, wearily turning her head to gaze at the carnage she had wrought. She let out a small, although nonetheless shocked gasp, as she looked upon the mangled, severed corpses littered about her feet.

Even though she had known that their deaths had to come in order for both hers and Esmé's lives to continue, she hadn't honestly expected to wreak such havoc upon those who, essentially, were only following the unsighted commands of a completely disturbed woman. . . .

For a fleeting moment, Wilhelmina honestly felt remorseful.

_Is this how __you__ felt after you'd realized your mistakes for having . . . killed our family and friends?_ she silently reflected upon her lost sibling once more, feeling her heart give a great jolt of amalgamated guilt and anguish. _. . . . What is happening to me?_

Holding onto Esmé as tightly as she could without further aggravating her injury, Wilhelmina turned and began to despairingly walk out of Belial once and for all, where its queen would be purposefully left to contend with the aftermath of her now fallen kingdom, alone once again.

Suddenly, Wilhelmina felt a sharp, overwhelmingly searing pain within her lower back, careening throughout the rest of her body, as it then caused her to abruptly fall harshly down onto her knees and drop Esmé as a result. She let out a bloodcurdling scream as the affliction continued on, lightly rolling over onto her side to see what looked like a makeshift, bone-like dagger mercilessly protruding from her body.

As her cries continued, the immensely afflicted redhead could then hear them being intermingled with another's, causing her to weakly look up to see Queen Reina simultaneously guffawing, as well as shrieking in the distance.

Her dark hair completely free of her formerly organized bun, and the demon's blood underneath her eyes now smeared from her previously fallen tears, she stood, a bit lopsidedly, before the long forgotten firepit and next to Jirair's fallen corpse.

"_You!_ You've ruined _everything!!_ You've _murdered_ the only family I've ever _truly_ cared for!! Did you really think that I would simply let you get away that easily??" inquired Queen Reina with blatant lunacy laced throughout her now, high pitched voice, eyes flashing with immense heartache as she peered down at her apparent right-hand man. "Now, I'm going to take _great_ pleasure in doing the very same to _you!!"_

Then suddenly, Queen Reina's facial expression turned dark with unbridled rage, as she slowly began to stalk over to the greatly wounded, now helpless Wilhelmina, whose vision began to get blurry from the overwhelming pain and loss of blood.

The last thing that she could see, before slipping away into the darkness of her subconscious, was Queen Reina's incensed form, coming closer towards her in order to finish what her dagger had started . . . and then also a mysterious, unknown and sizeable figure swiftly approaching from behind her. . . .

**-- End of Chapter Five**

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(A.N. SWEET merciful Heavens, I have done it!! Kaloo, kalay!! :Dances: Goodbye, blasted chapter!! Don't have to worry about you anymore!! HeHe Of course, now, I've to worry about the following chapter…. It never ends. LoL Still! I truly, truly hope you've all enjoyed this crazy chapter of mine, and didn't get TOO grossed out or "scared" during the whole cannibal hut scene and such. What can I say, when it comes to this story, at least, I have a pretty gross and messed up mind. LoL But it certainly adds to the drama and habitual terrors/danger that awaits Will at every turn within this new world. Don't you love the bible verse at the beginning? I know I do; it fits this chapter perfectly. HeHe Then again, so do all of the other verses I've used for each chapter thus far, which is the whole point, but yeah. LoL**

**I know what some of you might be thinking, too: "MAN, Esm****é has it easy! She gets to sleep the entire time, ANY time the two of them are in a scuff." Pretty much, yeah. LoL What! The girl went into shock, then developed a fever, which Dr. Crazy and her crew were treating, primarily so that they wouldn't eat "tainted meat" LoL No, worries, though; I'll have her wake up very soon again!**

**What else…oh, yeah. If anyone is or ever might be interested within the certain names for people or villages/"kingdoms" I've chosen thus far and their meanings, just lemme know and I'll fill ya in. Till then, I hope you'll all be kind to me and review this fourteen-pager! See? A lot longer than my previous chapter, too! See how nice I am with my return of this story? HeHe)**


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